By Adriane Mc Cray
On the evening of December 3, 2009, students, faculty and alumni of the University of Pennsylvania gathered to celebrate a rich Black cultural tradition that holds great historical importance to the black community on campus: Kwanzaa. The annual Kwanzaa Karamu dinner is a routine part of UMOJA week, a week-long series of events hosted by UMOJA along with various Black student groups under its umbrella.
The Penn community filed into Houston Hall’s Bodek Lounge, occasionally chiming in on Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas”, the Jackson 5’s rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and other soulful Christmas tunes. Everyone mingled and took their seats at the tables, decorated in black, white, and green African motif. The dinner opened up with a greeting by Makuu’s office coordinator, Constance Gordon, in the form of Kwanzaa’s Kukaribisha, or welcoming.
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