Do You Agree? News One Editor Says “Kwanzaa Is Wack”

Your Black News reports:

Now this in an interesting perspective.

Adisa Banjoko, West Coast Editor for Black news site, News One, asserts that Kwanzaa is a superficial, misleading, inauthentic representation of African-American culture:

“…. the reality is that Kwanzaa was created by an FBI informant named Dr. Maulana Karenga. Straight up! That’s an actual fact. Beyond that, stuff like corn that is used in a lot of the rituals is not even native to Africa. A friend of mine noted “it’s truly corny,” writes Banjoka.

In case someone tried to pull his “Black card,” Banjoka makes sure to throw in that he does in fact “love Africa,” apparently just not the one holiday in this country created to honor her diverse culture, dedication to family, self-worth and community building:

“Look, I love Africa and what it means to be Black. I love almost everything African (aside from the tribal fighting and the needless murder and rape of women across the continent). But Kwanzaa is not African. I never knew an African (from any part of the continent) who was like “Yo Adisa, bro you wanna slide thought to the Kwanzaa fest playa?” It has never happened! They don’t get down like that.”

He further compares Kwanzaa to a “bad weave” that everyone knows is not real.

While I can agree that inauthentic representation of a culture is no representation at all, maybe it would be more beneficial to actually open dialogue that demands a more honest depiction of African culture, as opposed to critiquing it’s legitimacy without offering any solid ideas on improving and broadening its scope.

Just an idea.

Weigh in readers: Do you celebrate Kwanzaa? If so, do you feel that it honors Africa --- or makes a mockery of her culture?