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Official Kwanzaa Website

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African American culture. Kwanzaa is observed from December 26th to January 1st and culminates in gift giving and a big feast.

1. Unity:Umoja (oo–MO–jah)
2. Self-determination: Kujichagulia (koo–gee–cha–goo–LEE–yah)
3. Collective Work and Responsibility: Ujima (oo–GEE–mah)
4. Cooperative Economics: Ujamaa (oo–JAH–mah)
5. Purpose: Nia (nee–YAH)
6. Creativity: Kuumba (koo–OOM–bah)
7. Faith: Imani (ee–MAH–nee)

Kwanzaa – HISTORY

Kwanzaa has seven core principles, or Nguzo Saba:

1. Umoja: Unity – To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

2. Kujichagulia: Self-Determination – To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

3. Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility – To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and solve them together.

4. Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics – To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

5. Nia: Purpose – To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

6. Kuumba: Creativity – To always do as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

7. Imani: Faith – To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

One of my favorite groups is TLC.  The song “Waterfalls” was released in 1995.  I remember hearing the song and listening to the lyrics.  It was in 1996, I recall listening to an interview, and they discussed the lyrics to the song and its relevance. The song brought attention to the issues of illegal drug sales, promiscuity, and HIV/AIDS.  The video was a poignant visual statement to help bring awareness to the illness initially considered the disease of those living alternative lifestyles. 

HIV/AIDS, or human immunodeficiency virus, is considered by some authors a global pandemic. However, the WHO currently uses the term ‘global epidemic’ to describe HIV. As of 2018, approximately 37.9 million people are infected with HIV globally. There were about 770,000 deaths from AIDS in 2018.

Today, we have celebrities who are open about being HIV positive, which significantly increased awareness and improved education surrounding the virus.

Famous celebrities
Charlie Sheen, Jonathan Van Ness, Magic Johnson, Billie Porter, Javier Munoz, and Danny Pintauro

Deceased
Rock Hudson, Freddie Mercury, Eazy-E

“I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading. I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to aids.”  Eazy-E

To learn more about HIV prevention and general education:  Prevention | HIV Basics | HIV/AIDS | CDC

So, as the Andy Williams song goes, Whoop de do. The Holiday Season means different things to everyone reading this. Each of us has a solid idea of what this means to us. We are probably sure in your belief and your faith in our holiday season. And I, respect your beliefs. Your faith is correct, and right.

What I propose, is that we examine what this means to others in our lives. You should learn about another person’s faith and rituals. They are as important to them, as yours are to you. Ignorance of other’s belies and traditions, along with religious doctrine fuel intolerance. To combat this ignorance, I will spend a little time describing several popular December holiday celebrations.

Our current calendar lists December as the month that holds the Winter Solstice, December 21^st. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the longest night of the year. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year. Northern Hemisphere Pagan culture and religions continue to celebrate the Winter Solstice. Many of the ancient Pagan rituals were adopted by the Christian celebrations for Christmas. These include the Yule log, evergreen wreaths, and exchanging of gifts. Many scholars link the modern Santa Claus to the Pagan god Odin.

The Japanese celebrate Ōmisoka, or New Year’s Eve. This is the second most important day in the year. Families will gather to eat a bowl of toshikoshi-soba or udon noodles. These long noodles are symbolic of crossing from one year to the next. Families will cook enough food to last for three days into the New Year, as it is considered bad luck to cook in the first three days of the year.

Those of Jewish faith celebrate Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights. This is an eight-day celebration that commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The celebration centers around the lighting of the eight candles on the Menorah while reciting traditional blessings. Children will play with a dreidel, a four-sided top bearing four Hebrew letters.

For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Traditions for Christmas vary around the world. Americans decorate a tree and give gifts. Australians, often go camping and may decorate a Christmas Bush. My favorite set of traditions comes from Iceland. The Icelandic people celebrate 26 days of Christmas and have 13 Santa Clauses that deliver gifts to shoes on windowsills.

New holidays have been established. Bodhi Day is not a traditional Hindu holiday. It was created in 1985 by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Likewise, the secular Kwanzaa was developed in 1966 by Maulana Karenga. Both holidays were developed to provide an alternative to the mainstream holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah. Both holidays provide a way to celebrate Hindu or African American history and peoples.

Humanity in general is not good at accepting other’s faiths. Our history is full of examples of faith and religious intolerance. Every major religion has historic, and current examples. Some of the examples were deadly, like the Spanish Inquisition, Crusades, and the civil war in Syria, fueled in part by Islam’s Sunni vs Shia division. Other examples were less bloody but led to major shifts in religious thought. For Christians the Protestant Reformation split the Christian world into several branches with different doctrines. For Muslims the Islamic Schism was a difference in opinion about who should lead the Muslim faith after the death of Muhammed. The two sides initially fought over the successor, but eventually resulted in the two faiths, Sunni, and Shia. Despite differences in doctrine, the two groups have, until recently, lived together in harmony for centuries. Viewed from the outside, the differences between branches in the same religion, are minimal. Christians are as baffled at the Sunni vs Shia division as Muslims are at the difference between Baptists and Catholics.

As mentioned above, I believe that your faith is correct. I cannot tell you that your faith is incorrect. What I can suggest, is to respect and accept other’s faith as valid. You may not believe what your neighbor believes, but you should respect it. Likewise, your neighbor should respect your faith.

Can you imagine a world where everyone respected each other’s opinions? Wow. That is a dream worth pursuing.

Ignorance is a root cause of our race and culture wars. This is a bold statement. Let me describe my support and then discuss ways to overcome it. Most people and cultures fear what they do not understand. You can see this in your daily lives. Think about the anxiety most people face when they must do something new. Let us extend this to our current political and social climate. Politically, we currently ‘hate’ China. Our politicians are rattling sabers and describing how they “fought China” and describing how their rivals “gave in to China”. We hate China because our politicians and media tell us to hate them. We do not know anything about them, we just follow along.

A similar argument can be made about our race issues in America. Many of our parents taught us to ‘hate’ people who look differently than we do. This is not just a white hating black thing; many people of color are similarly taught to hate white people. As good children, we emulate our parents and hate the people that they hate. Many of our societal structures mirror this hate, with systemic racism and bias as custom or even law.

The counter to this familial and cultural hate is to learn more about those we hate.  The only way to do this is to interact with the culture. Brad Pitt’s character in 7 Years in Tibet, did just this. He entered the country skeptical of the savages that lived there, wanting only to climb the mountains. He left years later as a friend to the Tibetan people and the Dali Lama. This true tale written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer is awesome, but impractical. Few of us can spend years in a culture to better understand it.

A practical way to learn about a culture is to explore their art. Fiction is always flavored by the culture in which it was written. The culture and experiences of the author come through in the prose of the story. Consider N.K. Jemison’s Broken Earth Trilogy. The trilogy of The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky are remarkable. The series marks the first time an author has won three Hugo Awards on three consecutive book releases.

The trilogy follows Essun through many stages of her life and depicts her struggle to protect her children from the evils of the world. The world is ravaged by tectonic disasters called seasons, that make survival difficult. There is one group of people in the world called roggas, that have dealt with systemic racism for over 40,000 years. Roggas are not visually distinct, instead they are born with a genetic trait that gives them magic called orogeny. This magic can protect the world from the earth. Despite this, the Stills (non-roggas) will kill their own rogga and feel that they did the right thing. Essun’s story paints a fantastically detailed picture of the racism she, her children, and other roggas face daily.

The author, N.K. Jemison, is a black woman. Ms. Jemison clearly used her experience as a black woman in America to flavor Essun’s interactions with her society. The parallels drawn between rogga and a popular derogatory term for black person is obvious. Reading Essun’s struggle, triumphs, and failures, really made systemic racism resonate with me. Essun’s tragedy and triumphs have stuck with me, long after I completed the book.

As DEI member I understand systemic racism, academically. I can define it, point to examples of it, and rally against it. But I can never really understand it. Through these books, I have a much better understanding of the issue. There is no way that a white author could believably have made this issue so clear.

Reading is not for everyone. Movies, provide another way to explore another culture. Netflix provides access to movies from nearly every culture on the planet. While movies are contrived, the basic principles of the culture that produced them can be experienced. A good example is The Wandering Earth. This is a Chinese disaster film, every bit as fun and ridiculous as anything Hollywood would produce. However, the characters, plot points, tropes, and society are so different from a Hollywood perspective, that they must be a product of the Chinese culture. The character dialog references different histories, and shared experiences.  By watching the movies, you can get a feel for Chinese culture. You can also begin to understand that our government’s hatred of China is unfounded. The people in the movie are people. People just like us.

Black History Month Reflection

Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and more recently has been observed in Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada, while in Ireland, and the United Kingdom it is observed in October.

Regardless of when other countries celebrate Black History Month, we can enjoy learning about the remarkable contributions of African Americans throughout the year.

To learn more visit BlackHistoryMonth.gov

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Sweet Treats

Submitted by Mary Fistler

Celebrate the legacy of Black baking
Cheryl Day shares four recipes that honor American traditions.

See the recipes at King Arthur Baking

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Black History – 365

Business

Black In Business: Celebrating The Legacy Of Black Entrepreneurship (forbes.com)

Criminal Justice

These 14 black lawyers broke down barriers and made history (gallery) (abajournal.com)

Culinary Arts

The Inductees | African American Chefs Hall of Fame

Design & Engineering Technology

16 Black STEM Innovators & Famous Leaders | Engineer Role Models (idtech.com)

Energy & Electronic Technology

10 Black Technology Inventors and Innovators to Know | VMware Radius

Notable contributions to telecom, technology honored during Black History Month | Wireless Infrastructure Association (wia.org)

Healthcare

Celebrating 10 African-American medical pioneers | AAMC

Hospitality

Black Meetings & Tourism – The Most Influential African-Americans In The Meetings/Tourism Industry (blackmeetingsandtourism.com)

Information Systems & Technology

Most Influential Blacks in Technology (businessinsider.com)

Nursing

A Celebration of 14 Famous Black Nurses in History | Chamberlain University

Black History Month – Notable Nurses Throughout History – Trusted Health

Trades Technology

African-American Technological Contributions: Past, Present, and Future | NIST

Sports

25 Black Athletes Who Changed the World | Complex

Entertainment

50 Black Actors Who Made Entertainment History | Stacker

Finance

10 Black Finance Leaders in History | BECU

Black Finance: African American Financial Leaders To Follow (moneylion.com)

75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street – Black Enterprise

Black History/365

300 Years of African-American Invention and Innovation | The MIT Press Reader

275+ Famous Black People Who Changed the World [A List of Activists, Actors, Athletes, Entrepreneurs, Musicians, & More!] | Ongig Blog

There Are Only 7 Black Billionaires in the United States (businessinsider.com)

Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights. This is an eight-day celebration that commemorates the re-dedication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The celebration centers around the lighting of the eight candles on the Menorah while reciting traditional blessings. Children will play with a dreidel, a four-sided top bearing four Hebrew letters.

For Christians, Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ. Traditions for Christmas vary around the world. Americans decorate a tree and give gifts. Australians often go camping and may decorate a Christmas bush. The Icelandic people celebrate 26 days of Christmas and have 13 Santa Clauses that deliver gifts to shoes placed on windowsills.

Not all holiday celebrations date back centuries. For instance, Bodhi Day, a Hindu holiday, was created in 1985 by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. Likewise, the secular Kwanzaa was developed in 1966 by Maulana Karenga. Both holidays were developed to provide an alternative to the mainstream holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah and encourage celebration of the Hindu or African American history and peoples.

Humanity, in general, is not good at accepting other’s faiths. Each religion has a history that is full of examples of faith and As the Andy Williams song goes, “Whoop de do.” The meaning(s) behind this Holiday Season can be different for everyone. It may be tied to beliefs or faith, or it may have a totally different meaning. It is not for me or anyone else to tell others that their reason for the season is incorrect. It is important that we respect others, and in doing so, examine how others in our lives feel about the holidays. While someone’s rituals may vary from yours, they are no less significant, and belying their beliefs fuels intolerance.

Let us study several popular December holiday celebrations:

Our current calendar lists December as the month that holds the Winter Solstice, December 21. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, it is the longest night of the year. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year. Northern Hemisphere Pagan culture and religions continue to celebrate the Winter Solstice, and rituals such as the Yule log, evergreen wreaths, and exchanging of gifts, all commonly featured in Christian Christmas celebrations, originated in Pagan culture. Many scholars link the modern Santa Claus to the Pagan god, Odin.

The Japanese celebrate Ōmisoka, or New Year’s Eve. This is the second most important day in the year. Families will gather to eat a bowl of toshikoshi-soba or udon noodles. These long noodles are symbolic of crossing from one year to the next. Families will cook enough food to last for three days into the New Year, as it is considered bad luck to cook in the first three days of the year.

Those of Jewish faith celebrate religious intolerance. Some of the examples were deadly, like the Spanish Inquisition, Crusades, and the civil war in Syria, fueled in part by Islam’s Sunni vs Shia division.

Other examples were less bloody but led to major shifts in religious thought. For Christians, the Protestant Reformation split the Christian world into several branches with different doctrines. For Muslims the Islamic Schism was a difference in opinion about who should lead the Muslim faith after the death of Muhammed. The two sides initially fought over the successor, but eventually resulted in the two faiths, Sunni and Shia. Despite differences in doctrine, the two groups have, until recently, lived together in harmony for centuries. Viewed from the outside, the differences between branches in the same religion, are minimal. Christians are as baffled at the Sunni vs Shia division as Muslims are at the difference between Baptists and Catholics.

As mentioned above, while you may not share your neighbor’s beliefs, you can still respect those beliefs and expect the same courtesy in return. Can you imagine a world where everyone respected each other’s opinions? Wow. That is a dream worth pursuing.

In recognition of World Mental Health Day, I want to shed light on Imposter Syndrome. Throughout my participation in various committees, online courses, and even PTC’s DEI meetings, Imposter Syndrome (Phenomena) has been framed as an “underrepresented in college issue.” The underrepresented may be affected in greater numbers, but imposter syndrome is real across all demographics. It is defined as an internalized fear of being a fraud. When people have earned recognition for their skills, talents, and accomplishments yet deep inside question whether they are deserving of the recognition, or are afraid of being exposed as a fraud, they may be suffering from Imposter Syndrome. 

Watch a TED talk from Elizabeth Cox titled “What is imposter syndrome and how can you combat it?”

When responding to a recent student email questioning how to calculate averages in a database, I almost made a big mistake. The mistake wasn’t in the calculation, but in the presentation. I had planned to demonstrate how the data, in this case average student grades, could be grouped by gender, which I had classified as Female and Male. That is when I realized that limiting the table to two binary gender choices is no longer appropriate. A recent Gallup poll found that 1/6 of the Generation Z adults identify as LGBTQ+ (Schmidt, 2021). That is about 17% of our student population which means it’s time to rethink how we approach the topic of gender.

A portion of PTC students no longer identify as purely Male or Female. Significant thought has helped them determine their gender identity. As faculty, it is not necessary to understand our students’ choices, we must simply respect them. Respecting gender identity is one way to make the classroom more inclusive.

In addition to respecting the students gender identity, we need to respect the entire gender discussion. In 2014, a meme circulated with a picture of a US Apache Helicopter and the phrase, “I sexually identify as an attack helicopter” (I sexually identify as an attack helicopter, 2014). Quite often, humor is designed to belittle an attribute of a person or group. This meme may offend those who have decided on a gender that is different from their biological sex. In the classroom, if the topic of gender is broached, be sure to handle it delicately and respectfully.

The need to recognize and respect gender identity extends beyond schools and the faculty who teach in them. It is the responsibility of all people. In support, the United States has added a third gender choice on American passports: Male, Female, or a non-binary choice listed as X (Passports, 2021). A citizen no longer needs to provide medical documentation supporting the gender decision.

After my near mistake with the email mentioned above, I switched the example to average by US state. Instead of two lines of averages, I had 50. The example was just as clear as with gender, but without the potential to insult or alienate my students. I then wondered whether an official list of gender terms exists.

I started with a simple Google search: “officially recognized genders”. After hours of attempted refinement, I found that a concrete list was not available. The terms varied by source and while deemed acceptable in one location, were offensive in another.

I then took my search to the medical professionals. The American Psychological Association proved to be a good resource for understanding gender identity, defining it as “a component of gender that describes a person’s psychological sense of their gender” (Gender, 2021). They elaborate that the gender identity is often a “deeply felt” sense of their gender identity. Each person’s gender identity is unique, and there is no correlation between gender identity and sexual orientation. To learn more, visit https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/gender.

The results of my research did highlight certain consistent terms. The source, MasterClass (Morse, 2020), provided a brief list of terms that I paraphrase here:

Cisgender: This is what my grandmother would call “traditional.” A person who identifies with the biological sex assigned at birth.

Gender-fluid: This gender identity is not fixed, may change over time, and at times an individual may identify with multiple genders at once.

Non-binary: Someone who does not follow the “traditional” Male-Female binary choice. This person may identify as male, female, both, or neither. Often the term “genderqueer” is a synonym.

Questioning: A person who is attempting to discover their gender identity. Considering our student body, these students are the most fragile and require lots of support and understanding from the faculty and staff. It is a tough time.

Transgender: A person whose gender identity does not match the biological sex assigned at birth. Some transgender individuals choose to undergo treatments to change their bodies to match the gender with which they identify.

There are many more terms. If a student presents a term that you are unfamiliar with, gently ask the student to define it in their own words. Assure the student that your questions are only designed to help you better understand them and treat them with respect. More than likely, if properly approached, the individual will happily help you to understand their gender identity.

I never want to intentionally alienate or insult anyone, and am glad I recognized my flawed gender example before sending the email response. I will be more mindful of my examples and my use of gender in the future. Where appropriate I will include different gender identities in my sample data, and in my assignments. I encourage others to do the same.

References

Gender. (2021, 7 31). Retrieved from apa.org: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language/gender

I sexually identify as an attack helicopter. (2014, March 17). Retrieved from knowyourmeme.com: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-sexually-identify-as-an-attack-helicopter

Morse, E. (2020, December 7). Gender Identity Guide: 15 Gender Identiy Terms Defined. Retrieved from masterclass.com: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gender-identity-guide#15-gender-identity-terms

Passports. (2021, July 31). Retrieved from transequality.org: https://transequality.org/know-your-rights/passports

Schmidt, S. (2021, February 24). 1 in 6 Gen Z adults are LGBTQ+. And this number could grow. Retrieved from washingtonpost.com: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/02/24/gen-z-lgbt/

Sopelsa, B. (2021, June 30). US to add third gender option to American passports. Retrieved from nbcnews.com: https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/us-add-third-gender-option-american-passports-rcna1314

September 24 is Native American Day. It is a day designed to celebrate the culture of the Native Americans and their contributions to states and our country, and it is a holiday celebrated in several states across our country, but not in Pennsylvania.

Our country has historically marginalized and neglected our Native American and Indigenous populations. We have systematically attempted to eradicate their culture through forced schooling and migrations. Recently, entire groups of Indigenous Americans faced the pandemic without access to running water. A Native American household is 19 times more likely to not have running water than a white family, and 14% of Native American house-holds lack electricity. Comparatively, the lack of Internet access in disadvantaged Pittsburgh neighborhoods may be front page news, and nationwide athletic teams and streets have been renamed, but our Native American brothers and sisters are still faced without access to basic human needs. 

The fact that September 24 is not celebrated nationally reflects our country’s continued neglect of these people. We are making strides towards inclusion but still fall far short of actual recognition. November was first named Native American Heritage month in 1994 and each year since, the sitting President has continued to announce its recognition, but it has not yet been written as a federal law.  However, progress is being made at the federal level. President Biden appointed Deb Haaland, a Native American, to serve on his Cabinet as the Secretary of the Interior which is the first time an indigenous person has been named to such a distinguished position within our nation’s government.  

In Western Pennsylvania, many of our townships and geological features retain an ‘Indian’ name or have roots in a Native language. For instance, Aliquippa Township, Hopewell Township, the city of Punxsutawney, and the names of all three rivers in Pittsburgh retain roots in our Native American history. It is imperative that all Americans understand the important role the Indigenous people played in the history of our country and do more to allow their descendants to fully participate today.