At the Pan-African Connection, Kwanzaa’s closing celebrations embody faith and unity, fostering community connection and renewal for the new year.
DALLAS — As Kwanzaa celebrations came to a close at the Pan-African Connection Bookstore and Resource Center, drums delivered the final beat.
“It’s an exhilaration,” Leo Hassan said. “It’s healing.”
Hassan is a supporter of the Pan-African Connection. He leads the drum circle every week.
“Whenever we hear the drums, it’s kind of like a flashback of what it’s going to take for us to be aware of what is happening around us and what we can look forward to for the future,” Hassan said.
He played throughout the Kwanzaa celebrations.
“We all enjoy the healing properties of the ancestral rhythms,” Hassan said. “We feel the passion of the drums because this was our method of communication, the African people, for many many centuries past.”
It’s a communication rooted in unity which Kwanzaa brings.
“I’ve been celebrating Kwanzaa for about 34 years now,” Pan-African Connection Co-Owner Adjwoa Tyehimba.
Each year, they host a week-long Kwanzaa celebration highlighting each of the seven principles.
“We come together. We sing. We light the candle. Everybody would say what a certain principle means to them,” Tyehimba said.
It’s also a time to support community and provide education.
“We’re blessed to still be here, to be a cultural institution that can still teach certain Black history and bring people together in a safe place where they can learn about different things,” Tyehimba said.
She and Hassan said the timing of Kwanzaa is also significant because it runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.
“Why don’t you want to celebrate something that celebrates unity, cooperative economics, faith. These are all principles that’s good to reinforce right before the New Year,” Tyehimba said.
“This is a chance to refresh,” Hassan said. “The drums are going to present a direction for the inspiration that is to come.”