You're listening to Comedy Central towards the night before Kwanza, and all through the house everybody was asking, what is this holiday all about? Kwanza. It's the holiday your white friends think your Black friends celebrate. But if you'd like to know more about it, I'm happy to tell you. Starting on December twenty six, black families gathered for seven days to honor their African heritage and celebrate the values of the Black community like unity, self determination, and Beyonce.
And some think Kwanza has ancient roots, and it does if you think doing the mashed potato smoking menthols on a shag rub is ain't you because Kuanza was actually created in nineteen sixties six by Molana Karenga. He was a Black nationalist leader who changed his birth name from Ronald because no one wants to celebrate something invented by a guy named Ronald. You would even bean my best friend if your named Ronald. I'm not even to come
and see a birthday for it. After seeing the nineteen sixty riots in l A, Karina wanted away for African Americans to honor their African roots and reaffirm their cultural connections. So he created Kwanza, naming the holiday after the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, which means first fruit and then adding an extra A reminds me of when I copy someone's homework but change a little bit so the teacher
didn't know how cheated. Karina studied a variety of African tribes, pulled from their traditions and added thing about candles because candles were on celibaba and beyond each side of Kwanza. A candles lit that represents a different principle, unity, moda, self determination, coolgi could could gi chocolia? Who hey man, I don't know these words. I'm trying all right. Collective work and responsibility jima cooperative economics, Jama purpose Nia creativity,
Komba faith Emani Animani the seventh night. People exchange gifts, and the gifts are often handmade. Why because Kwanza is meant to stand against the commercialism of Christmas and because handmade gives so much harder to regive. At first, Kwanza had a hard time catching on, in part because there's a lot of holiday competition during this time of year Christmas, Hanukkah, the Lexus, December to remember sales of it. Also, because seven days is a lot of time to spend with families.
Even Jesus gonna only take three days in heaven when his dad before he came back to Earth because he needed a break. It also didn't help that Karenga himself wasn't the best dude. He spent some time in prison for abusing women. If Santa went to prison for smacking around Mrs Claude and then tried to come down my chimney, Rudolph wouldn't be the only one with a red nose.
Kwansa didn't pick up seamen to the late seventies, when the black middle class began to grow and subourbon Black parents wanted to connect their children to their heritage, and of course, for there's black people with money, there's companies pretending to care about Black culture. So like every other major holiday, soon Quanza became commercialized. The Dream beer advertisements, Power Rangers, cell phone commercial, Sesame Street even light lady
than the food networks, making kwands a case. At least, I think that's a case that looks like something you make when you're drunk. At four. I am point is Kwanza had a ride thirty years after its first celebration, ten million Americans were celebrating Kwanza. Even the US government acknowledges. Bill Clinton made the first presidential declaration marking the holiday, although I bet he was just trying to get another invites our Stenio and the US Postal Service even commissioned
to Kuanza stamps. Check it out. It's the closest thing we're gonna get to reparations. But Kwanza's moment in the sun didn't last long. After the nineties, interest in the holiday decline, and now only four percent of Americans celebrated, which to me just reflects the changing of the times. Younger black people don't feel the need to have a
holiday to affirm their blackness. From black culture is way more visible and easy to engage with Nowadays, there's black Twitter, black panther, slicked down baby hairs, and honestly, Kwanza is a complicated holiday. It's got a problematic beginning and can sometimes come off as African cosplay. But on the other hand, it brings families together, send us a black experience and as an excuse to have some good food. Not you, but maybe the best part of Kwanza is whether you
celebrate it or not. You can pretend to celebrate it so my white friends will buy me gifts. Ha ha habari ganni y'all, Siri, what does the barighani mean? Oh? She a white lady. She don't know. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast