12.27.18

PW OPINION PW NEWS PW LIFE PW ARTS
Bulletin Board
By Carl Kozlowski
HAPPY KWANZAA
City to hold celebration at La Pintoresca Library
The city will hold its 30th annual Kwanzaa
celebration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday,
Dec. 27 at La Pintoresca Library, 1355 N.
Raymond Ave., Pasadena.
The event, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family,
Community and Culture, will be led by Thanayi
Karenga, the daughter of Dr. Maulana Karenga,
who founded Kwanzaa in 1966.
This year’s event will include music and
stories followed by refreshments provided by
the Pasadena Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma
Theta Sorority. There will be a special guest appearance by the 2019 Tournament
of Roses Royal Court.
Maulana Karenga founded the holiday as an African-American celebration, in
the spirit of Juneteenth — which commemorates Union soldiers freeing slaves in
Texas six months after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, according
to the Kwanzaa website.
According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase
“matunda ya kwanza,” meaning “first fruits of the harvest.”
The Pan-African holiday celebrates family, community and culture. It honors
African heritage in African-American culture and is observed from Dec. 26 to Jan.
1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.
Kwanzaa has seven core principles, each one celebrated over one week. Those
principles are: unity, self-determination, responsibility, cooperative economics,
purpose, creativity and faith.
In the 1990s, the holiday increased in popularity. However, with that popularity
came increased commercialization, with the first greeting card being sold in 1992,
raising some concern about damaging the holiday’s values. Rather, it led to more
awareness of the holiday.
In 1997, the first Kwanzaa stamp, designed by Synthia Saint James, was issued
by the United States Post Office. That same year President Bill Clinton gave the
first presidential declaration marking the holiday.
For more information, contact Melvin Racelis at (626) 744-7268 or email
mracelis@cityofpasadena.net.
PUBLIC SERVANTS
Star-News Public Editor Larry Wilson to deliver
keynote address at Jewish Federation meeting
honoring Volunteer of the Year
Pasadena Star-News Public Editor Larry
Wilson will be the keynote speaker at the Jewish
Federation’s 24th annual meeting at 10 a.m. Jan.
13 at the Temple Beth Israel of Pomona.
At the meeting, the organization will be
awarding its 2018 Volunteer of the Year award to
Holocaust survivor and Pasadena resident Ruth
Slater for her many years of volunteering and
for the support she has given to the community,
specifically as a member of the Jewish Book Festival Committee.
Wilson, a lifelong Pasadena resident, is the public editor for the Pasadena Star-
News, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Whittier Daily News.
He was named the local paper’s editorial page editor in 1987 and later became
its editor. Currently, he writes a column and editorials for the three papers.
“We wanted somebody who had the pulse of the community, and being in the
media for so long he has seen things that I thought could add to our meeting,”
said federation spokesman Jason Moss. “We try and find speakers that are topical
and relevant. We look forward to hearing his insights from his professional
experience.”
The Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys’
mission is to build community by strengthening and enhancing Jewish life. The
federation does this by providing programs and services that support the needs
of the Jewish community in our region, and acts as the Jewish voice on issues
that affect the greater Jewish community.
Reservations for are $30 and include brunch. The RSVP deadline is
Wednesday, Jan. 9.
For more information, call the Jewish Federation at (626) 445-0810 or email
federation@jewishsgpv.org. n
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