MANCHESTER, NH – On the second day of Kwanzaa attendees were reminded of the importance of faith when it comes to moving mountains.
Closing out the celebration, which lasted several hours and included a community meal, an African market, music and several speakers, NH Black Women’s Heath Project board member Sandra Plummer invited everyone to take home a miniature bottle holding a single mustard seed, made especially for the moment.
She relayed a story about a stranger who shared a mustard seed with her in the aisles of a supermarket, at first a seemingly random act but one Plummer came to understand as a powerful reminder: that even the smallest bit of faith can become the thing that ultimately sustains you. She encouraged everyone to take home a mustard seed to remind them that nothing is impossible, where there is faith.
The celebration began with a social hour and community meal at the downtown YWCA, which became a hub of fellowship, learning and gratitude. As it has, off and on, for the past 30 years in Manchester, the annual Kwanza celebration serves as a way to educate the public about the history of the cultural celebration while becoming a focal point of renewal for strengthening community in the coming year.
The program began with drumming and a formal explanation of Kwanzaa by NH Black Womens Project Executive Director Brenda Lett.
Guest speakers included Dr. Aldine Latimore, President of the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women; Shirley Tomlinson, Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist for the NH Department of Health and Human Services Office of Health Access; this writer – Carol Robidoux – publisher Ink Link News; Hon. Melanie Levesque of Nashua, former NH State Senator for District 12; and keynote speaker Minister Ray Ealy of Nashua’s New Baptist Fellowship Church.
Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa – Dec. 26-Jan. 1 – highlight one of the “seven principles” as described with the following words in Swahili:
- Umoja: Unity
- Kujicagulia: Self-determination
- Ujiuma: Collective work and responsibility
- Ujamaa: Collective economics
- Nia: Purpose
- Kuumba: Creativity’
- Imani: Faith
