Bangor church celebrates Kwanzaa early

BANGOR – Rhythmic sounds filled the Unitarian Universalist Church on Park Street in Bangor Sunday as people milled into the building for a kickoff celebration for Kwanzaa, an African-American cultural celebration that starts the day after Christmas.

Families, University of Maine students and individuals – of many different races – made up the group of 70-plus attendees who were exposed to a variety of traditional African foods, dress, history of the holiday and the ceremonial lighting of Kinara.

“It’s important to bring people of different cultures together and it’s important to give those who are not familiar with the African culture a little insight,” Joseph Perry, president of Bangor’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said while various types of food were placed on the buffet table.

During the seven days of Kwanzaa, people celebrate the seven principles of African cultures: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

Each day is set aside to contemplate one principle that is symbolized by the lighting of a candle on the Kinara candle holder.

Ellsworth residents Karen and Andrew Scanlon traveled to Bangor in order to show their adopted 20-month-old son, Drew, who is Hispanic and black, a little bit about his culture.

“I feel, living in rural Maine, that we need to take advantage of the opportunities to expose our son to different cultural events and expose him to positive role models within his racial background,” Karen Scanlon said. “We don’t have many opportunities in Ellsworth, Maine.”

Drew is the youngest junior-lifetime member of the local NAACP, his mother said.

Bangor resident Tracie Lumpkin brought her two children, Travin, 4, and Chante, 12, to the event to enjoy the food, music and camaraderie.

The family is originally from Detroit and moved to Maine two years ago, following in the footsteps of relatives Assata Sherrill and her daughter Ashley Sherrill, now of Bangor.

The senior Sherrill, who made sweet potato pie and collard greens for the Kwanzaa dinner, is a business owner, a Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce member, and an NAACP member.

Educator, social activist and author Maulana Karenga of California initiated the first Kwanzaa in 1966 as a way for blacks to connect with their culture and with Africans all over the world to celebrate family, community and their common culture on one holiday.

The word Kwanzaa is a Swahili word which means first fruits, to represent the annual harvests. The holiday starts the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, and goes to Jan. 1.

Bangor’s local NAACP, the church, the University of Maine Human Rights Coalition, and UMaine’s Black Student Union sponsored the event, which was celebrated early to accommodate schedules of students and others.

Gimbala Sankare, UMaine freshman and president of the Black Student Union organization, who is originally from Ghana, wore a traditional-style African shirt during the gathering and said the goal of the group is to work with the NAACP to create more community involvement through events on campus.

The two groups are sponsoring the 11th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast Jan. 15 at the university and have several events planned for Black History Month in February, he said.

After eating, attendees listened to the singing group Women with Wings, which practices at the church.

“It’s nice to see black people coming together,” Ashley Sherrill said.

To find out more about Kwanzaa, visit http://officialkwanzaawebsite.org.