Faith – IMANI – is the last of the NGUZO SABA – THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES we celebrate during KWANZAA, which ended last Friday, Jan.1st.
Its significance is described as belief with all our hearts, in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people and the Righteousness and Victory of our struggle.
When the cruelty and reach of the slave system in the Americas seemed to leave no room for hope, our ancestors clung to Faith – in the words of James Weldon Johnson: “Sing a song full of the Faith that the dark past has taught us.” (Lift E’vry Voice and Sing”) Hope is a difficult idea for those who can see no pathway to change a wretched condition; but Faith in a Higher Power, or Faith in oneself – does not necessarily depend on a pathway that is perceived – it depends on a force that resides within us. It is a condition that can create the space for Hope to rise and find its fertile ground – a place to grow.
This is the 57th year that I’ve celebrated Kwanzaa with my family. I do it to honor my ancestors in the African Diaspora. I recognize that there is no such holiday in Africa – although some may celebrate it there now, because it’s celebrated among African Americans. It is the celebration of Kwanzaa that has given me a vehicle with which to share important cultural principles and ideas with my own children, and their children and children I have taught – principles that can mean survival for communities of oppressed peoples. In our family’s celebration of the principle, IMANI this year, we shared poetry written by African American poets. I would like to share one such poem with you – a poem that to me embodies the strong spirit and Faith – IMANI – of the poet.
A poem by Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely – Preacely was a SNCC Freedom Fighter during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960-70s.
No Final Curtain 2020
There is no final curtain at this year’s end.
Perhaps it has just been an intermission…
an interlude…
an illusion?
An aberration that has engaged our senses
our labors
our endeavors
our travails
And has so distracted us
Divided us.
But let us not be scattered now.
Instead let us seek new partnerships,
hold fast to new and Spirit-filled alliances,
Celebrate those who build
and forge justice and make repair.
Let us choose liberation and kindness
over destruction and despair.
If we move on fiercely
We can sustain and create anew…
Mold community from chaos…
Make imperative the healing of our wounded hearts.
Perhaps in this year’s final hours we will decide to be more vigilant
To consciously mend the brokenness,
liberate our children’s dreams
And recognize that our deliverance
is
our one true imperative.
Let. Us. FREE!
It is our cry from division, hatred, and greed.
Let us be boldly
re-imagined,
re-constructed,
And so communally resurrected,
That we perform in our real-life theatre of hope, justice, wokeness,
and emancipation…
that our words,
and our deeds,
become the script, the production, and the performance
… that will truly liberate us all.