Pre-Kwanzaa festivities features music, quilting

Healing after Hurricane Katrina was the focus of the annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration Wednesday night at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. The keynote presentation highlighted the aftermath of Katrina with stories, music and textile art. \n“We are dedicating this event to the themes of reconciliation, healing and the human impulse of creativity and survival,” said Audrey McCluskey, interim director of the Neal-Marshall Center. “Two years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and left many of its most disempowered citizens abandoned, to be called refugees in their own homes. We want to celebrate the spirit of renewal and cleansing and the tenacity of life.”\nThe pre-Kwanzaa celebration began with a libation ceremony led by Dr. James Mumford, emeritus professor in the African American and African Diaspora Studies department, and Samuel Obeng, director of the African Studies program. \n“It’s time to recommit ourselves to what it means to be African, African-American and human,” Obeng said. “We toast our great ancestors, the great leaders who lead us forward and those who have taught and mentored us individually and collectively.” \nFollowing the toasts, seven student organizations lit candles to commemorate the seven principles of Kwanzaa and the Neal-Marshall Dance Ensemble performed the Akwaaba dance, a traditional West African welcome dance, to live drumming. Later, Dr. Aderonke Adesanya, a visiting scholar from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, read a poem focusing on the second principle of Kwanza: self-determination. \nKeynote speakers Jacquelyn Hughes, a visual artist and poet, musician Monica Dillon and storyteller Karen Hurst all live or have lived in New Orleans. At the beginning of the presentation, the group had a simple message:\n“We ain’t gone and we are not going,” Hughes said. “There is no New Orleans without African people. We are the most African city in the United States and have taken ourselves all over the land. Of course we need support, but make no mistake that we are here.” \nThe trio’s multimedia presentation incorporated poetry readings by Hurst, piano music and song from Dillon and a slideshow of quilts designed by Hughes. All of the work highlighted the struggle and rebirth of New Orleans and its residents. \nKwanzaa is a 40-year-old African-American tradition lasting from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. However, McCluskey said the there is a monthlong celebration on campus. \nSophomore Dominique McGee participated in the candle lighting ceremony to represent the African \nStudents Association. \n“I don’t know much about Kwanzaa so I hope it will be a learning experience,” McGee said. “When I was younger I used to think it was an African holiday, but it really isn’t. It was made by African-Americans during the civil rights movement as a way to embrace their African heritage. Not many African students know about Kwanzaa, but a lot of people assume that we do. I am really excited about it.”