Volume IV, Number 2 I

Kwann

9
3

by Gilles

The word Kwanzaa means “to begin”
in Swahili. In Burlington, Kwanzaa is a
I collective, a group of individuals best
known in the area forits marvelous, up-beat
drumming concerts and exhibitions. But
Kwanzaa is more, much more.

Back in 1981, several women prepared
a video for a UVM television course. In the
making of the video they realized the need
in Vennont for more exposure to Black
culture. This in turn inspired a small core
, group to conduct workshops in the schools;
these early pioneering members were Paig
Wadley-Bailey, Gwen Shervington, Mic-
hiyo Fukaya, and Nari Penson.

During the early workshops, these
leaders discussed Black art, music, poetry,
dance, and story-telling; some members
did drumming and engaged children in
rhythms and dancing. At this point, a few
_ community members began helping out so
that three to six people were doing work-
shops at a time.

Soon, the group began broadening its
perspectives to include helping children to
become aware of other cultures besides
their own. The women soon discovered that
little kids had no difficulty with all this,
being by nature, flexible and “sponges” to
learning; however, older children and adult
audiences had guilt reactions and resisted
the education. In order to counter and try to
eliminate these feelings, a gentler approach
Was developed to include exploring ways in
which people felt different themselves and
felt discriminated against or hurt; this in
turn led to open discussion and deeper
understanding of differences in others.

Kwanzaa feels it is important to not
deal only on a cerebral level. The group
"368 music, art projects, films and vide-
°l3D6S to generate discussion, have fun and
2 that other ways to communicate do
y no a?T1gif1a11y,'Kwanzaa was an educa-
I Sm“ $T0up,‘doing workshops around the

let Involving issues of discrimination
J ‘W1 multi-culturalism. The original state-
L.

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ment of purpose was- and remains- the
main concept of being against oppression,
which includes oppression against homo-
sexuality.

Kwanzaa now consists of two main
parts, or “wings”: educational and per-
formance. So how did it develop a second
“arm”? Well, let me tell you!

The groups performances were, at
first, the result of open invitations to join in
to drum, with 3 or 4 rehearsals before an
events. Kwanzaa began to play at Vermont
Lesbian and Gay Pride Celebrations, their
drumming and joyful noisemaking provid-
ing spirit-raising music before the parade.
Other groups, such as the Peace Coalition
also asked these wonderful drummers to
join in their parades. These performances
were informal and workshops were still the
main focus of the organization.

Around 1986, Kwanzaa began getting
serious, taking lessons,‘and learning the
background of the music (such as the coun-
try of origin, meaning and uses). They
realized the need to give apolitical message
and not be just an entertainment organiza-

za: To egi

 

tion. This led to awareness that the group
could no longer j ust have anyone come and
sit in to drum, but performers needed to
show commitment, to meet and rehearse.

The educational workshops are still a
focus, but more public performances are
occuring now, steadily, with 10 members
performing on a regular basis. Some of the
individuals in the performing group also
participate in the educational wing as do
community resource people as needed. The
organization is also listed in the Vermont
Research Agents Catalog for schools as a
multi-cultural resource group. An*impor-
tant aspect of Kwanzaa and one of the
differences, not traditionally seen in many
cultures, is the fact of women performing
on drums. Called the “Kwanzaa Percussion
Ensemble”, its core function is to promote
global awareness, through the use of music
from various cultures: African, Diaspora
(the spreading of Black people throughout
the world)-which includes Afro-Asian,
Afro-Cuban, Afro-American, Afro-Brazil-
ian, etc., and mid-Eastem.
' (Continued on page 11)