Joyous KuchuQwanzaa!

Each year we dedicate a KuchuQwanzaa season to a pivotal figure in our community in order to educate our communities about the unique contribution an individual or group of individuals have made in our communities.  Akwasidae (Day of Remembrance), which is generally observed on Siku Tatu (3rd Day) is the day we celebrate the legacy and contributions of these important individuals.

Audre Lorde was born in 1934 in New York to parents of West Indian heritage. Her writings protest against the swallowing of black American culture by an indifferent white population, against the perpetuation of sex discrimination, and against the neglect of the movement for gay rights. This year we also celebrate Rudolph Byrd who edited “I Am Your Sister: Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre Lorde,” New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

“I have always wanted to be both man and woman, to incorporate the strongest and richest parts of my mother and father within/into me — to share valleys and mountains upon my body the way the earth does in hills and peaks.”
– Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

2010 was a difficult year for those who were or were accused of being LGBT, which led to their eventual demise.   A “spate of  suicides linked to anti-gay harassment” caused many school administrators and communities to reconsider how we deal with bullying and the safety of those within our own communities.  This year’s homage is dedicated to the lives lost due to the failure of our society to protect it’s citizens against hate.  Though not all are Black and identify as LGBT their lives are valid and should be considered in our commemoration of the lives lost.  The seven presented this year are probably not ALL those who took their own lives but serves as a representation of the impact of discrimination and hate on our lives.

2009: Joseph Beam

Joseph Beam (2009)

Joseph Beam (1954-1988) was a cultural and political activist, writer,editor and beloved son. Beam edited In the Life, the groundbreaking anthology of black gay writing, originally published in 1986. He was a board member of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays; was founding editor of Black/Out magazine; served on the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the American Friends Service Committee; and, prior to his death, had begun working on the book Brother to Brother. Joseph Beam was a man who cared deeply about “black men loving black men.”  We watched Brother to Brother at KuchuQwanzaa 2009 as a part of Nyumba.