Celebrate Kwanzaa at Southside Community Center
The Southside Community Center's annual Kwanzaa celebration will take place Wednesday with tradition, music, food and community.
For two decades, the Kwanzaa celebration has taken place at the Southside Community Center. The celebration is planned for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at 305 S. Plain St. in Ithaca.
Kenneth Glover and Leslyn McBean-Clairborne will serve as the masters of ceremonies. Dr. Nia Nunn of Ithaca College and the Community Unity Music Education Program will present a keynote address. The program will begin with drumming by Jhakeem Haltom, followed by a performance of the Black National Anthem and a tribute to the elders by Kristina Camille.
There will be a candle-lighting ceremony, a children's arts and crafts village, observance of the seven principles of Kwanzaa — unity, self-determination, responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith — and will conclude with a community feast.
"Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday created to promote community development and engagement. It was created to give African Americans a new shared tradition in the U.S. after slavery erased traditions of the individual African societies represented by trafficked people. Tompkins County and the Southside neighborhood in Ithaca, especially, are areas where slaves initially settled after gaining freedom. This event celebrates acknowledging local and national history, shared triumph and continued responsibility for current and future community development," according to a press release from the Southside Community Center.
The event is free. It is being held in partnership with the Greater Ithaca Activities Bureau and community leaders.
Follow Kelsey O'Connor on Twitter at @ijkoconnor.