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Logan community celebrates Kwanzaa
CONCORD, Jan 01, 2010 (Independent Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Today may be the last day of Kwanzaa, but this week, the Logan community practiced one of the holiday's seven principles: Unity.
Residents came together on Monday and Tuesday at the new Neighborhood Network Technology Building to talk about how life used to be in the Logan community and what can be done to get it back to that way, while reinforcing the principles of Kwanzaa.
"I thought it would be great for our youth to sit and listen to our elders and get insight on how they overcame their struggles and kept things positive," said Patricia Hairston, housing specialist and secretary of the residents council. "The (holiday) gifts are over. I wanted them to come out and learn something different."
Shonda Carter, 24, of Concord, said she learned about self-determination, which is another principle of Kwanzaa.
"I'm determined I could do better and make myself better," Carter said. "It's never too late to change."
Determination was one of the key ideas Carter heard Sadie Grier, 71, of Concord, mention in their small group discussion on Tuesday.
Grier and other longstanding members of the Logan community told their groups about their personal history and what they have learned from the past.
"We had hard times, but we survived," Grier said. "You can make it. All you have to do is have that determined mind."
Before the small group discussions, the youth council for the Logan community lit candles and read the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
In addition to unity and self-determination, the other principles are cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, faith and collective work and responsibility. The event's final activity reinforced collective work and responsibility.
The small groups were given fictitious scenarios and asked to provide solutions together for each problem. Conflicts included pressure to join a gang, lack of money and having a child at a young age.
After each group provided solutions that included avoiding people who cause problems and having faith, Hairston told the residents that each scenario the groups were given lacked communication, something that was crucial.
"A lot of times you get caught up in your drama and feel like nobody has been through it," Hairston said. "If you open up and listen, a person can deter you from heading down trouble lane."
After this week's event, Hairston wanted the youth to remember the older residents they met at the celebration and keep in mind that there were other people to go to for help.
Besides communicating more, Martez Coleman, 16, of Concord, said the community needs to come together.
"Things have changed, but they are not changing quick enough for the better," Coleman said.
Celia Brown, 68, of Concord, agreed. She spoke of the Logan community in the 1980s and how men were more involved with the children, and the neighbors worked together more then.
"We were more united," Brown said. "We communicated together. We had a bond."
And even though Brown said there is still work to be done, she was happy this week's Kwanzaa celebration happened, since it was a good start to getting back to the way things used to be.
"If we get in here and work together, we can share it in our homes," Brown said.
Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
To see more of the Independent Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.independenttribune.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Independent Tribune,
Concord, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For
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