(Jewish Group) Kwanzakkah celebrates power of dual identities, overcoming oppressions
For Carol Valoris, the holiday season used to evoke mixed feelings. As a white Jewish mother of two Black Jewish daughters, she described seeing her family zigzagging between Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. No matter which holiday the family was observing, she said, someone was always left out.
“It always felt a little bittersweet,” said Valoris, 75, of Washington, D.C.
On Dec. 5, however, Valoris and her family participated joyfully, and fully, in a virtual “Kwanzakkah” celebration sponsored by the Black Jewish Liberation Collective, an organization of Black Jewish social justice activists formerly known as Black Yids Matter.
Members of the McKinney family (from left) siblings Jason, Shahanna, Adam and David, display their menorah and kinara while celebrating Hanukkah and Kwanzaa in Milwaukee in 1999. The Black Jewish Liberation Collective held a similar Kwanzakkah celebration online on Dec. 5. by the Forward
Black Jewish diversity consultant Tarece Johnson applauded the event as a chance for Black Jews to bring their whole selves, “just being courageous in our space.”
more...