The First Kwanzaa
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2017
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In December 1966, a group of Black activists in Los Angeles created the winter holiday Kwanzaa to try to reclaim their African heritage. It's now celebrated by millions across the US.
Lucy Burns speaks to Terri Bandele, who attended the first Kwanzaa celebrations aged 11.
Picture: Children at the first Kwanzaa celebration - courtesy of Terri Bandele (on right)
Transcript
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| 0:49.8 | with the story of our times told by the people who were there. |
| 0:53.5 | I'm Lucy Burns and today I'm taking you back to the 26th of December 1966 and the very |
| 0:59.8 | first celebration of Kwanza, a new holiday created by black activists in America to |
| 1:06.1 | celebrate their African heritage. This is Terry Bandeley. She was there when the idea of Kwanza was first born at |
| 1:16.3 | Campainer Malana Karanga's house in Los Angeles when Terry was 10. |
| 1:21.0 | It was Christmas Day 1965 and we had gone to Corringus House, my father, my brother, and myself |
| 1:27.0 | and we had bought their daughter tonight some Christmas gifts and the only doll that we could find was back then it was a little white |
| 1:33.9 | doll. So we took the dolls and then coloring books or puzzles or whatever else |
| 1:37.9 | we had there and we were sitting on the floor and Karanga and my father were |
| 1:41.0 | talking and he was like yeah we got to do something about this |
... |
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