LALA BOOKS X UMOJA: KESHO CHILDREN'S KWANZAA EVENT

189 Market Street,Lowell MA 01852

27 December, 2022

Description

CERTAINTY IS TIME'S CONSTANT FATE AS CREATION IS BLACK PEOPLE'S. WE WORK TO HONOR AND MAINTAIN THIS GREAT LEGACY ENCODED IN ALL OUR MATTER. Clocks have held & shaken humanity's hands through hardship, victory, and renaissance and in all stages, Black people have forced beauty from tumult. UMOJA: JANA, LEO, KESHO is an initiative honoring and celebrating the continuity of Black creation with time. UMOJA: JANA, LEO, KESHO is Swahili for 'Unity: yesterday, today, tomorrow'. KESHO: events have a specific philanthropic focus of addressing food insecurity and creating safe children's spaces in addition to entertaining and holding space for intentional conversations and actions around determining, defining, and developing the state of the Black tomorrow. In collaboration with lala books, UMOJA is educating children about Kwanzaa values by cultivating a space where the foundations of expressive noise and curiosity are laid for a life of fruition. This culturally competent event features child & adult authors, educational activities, and the opportunity to participate in a public art installment! Food tickets are $5. To avoid paying $5, bring one donation of organic cotton menstrual pads or tampons- See images for acceptable donation examples. JANA: Paying homage to archive, JANA events honour ancestral traditions of orality by instrumenting the generations of voices that live in our throat & hands. The innumerable efforts to silence Blackness have only sharpened our innovative flexibility to not just survive, but thrive and create. legacy- this is the importance of orality. Jana provides space for individuals already expressing themselves externally to share their noise with others to inspire and empower. JANA contextualizes past teachings in a modern world, making them more accessible and applicable to us. Live experiences and open mics by local Black diaspora talent in varying languages with tapas and drinks inspired by traditional Kwanzaa, Kenyan, & Black diaspora dishes. This speaks to Kujichagulia– (Self-determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves. LEO: Paying homage to the current, this LEO analyzes the state of the Black contemporary by asking 'What brings us joy?' 'How do we create joy for ourselves and our collective?' and 'What standard are we setting for our creation?'. LEO events are for celebrating us today; bringing us together in fun, organized, safe environments where conversation is innate and ideas can be shared over music, refreshments, and performance. LEO further encourages thriving beyond survival because as strong as our bodies are; they have space for so much more. This speaks to Ujamaa (Cooperative economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.