It’s beautiful… It reminds me of home in Africa. It is a way to celebrate my culture… Just the drumming and the music, it reminds me of home. – Pearl Forbes, Liberian native
Hayti Kwanzaa Table 2015 created by Baba Chuck Davis
Hayti Kwanzaa kicks off the week-long Kwanzaa festivities in the Triangle. Kwanzaa is a 7-day celebration of family, community, and culture observed from December 26 through January 1. Co-sponsors – Shabutaso Inc. and Hayti Heritage Center – bring the community together under Kwanzaa’s first day and principle – Umoja – Ki-Swahili for Unity. The day-long event opens with a film showing of Kwanzaa documentary film, The Black Candle and closes with Winston Salem singing sensation, The Healing Force. Parenting, chess, music and dance workshops abound throughout the day for children and elders alike. See Kwanzaa Across the Triangle page for more information and a listing of Kwanzaa events throughout the Triangle.
WHO: Children, Adults, Seniors
WHAT: Hayti Kwanzaa– family-friendly African-American cultural celebration
WHEN: Monday December 26th, 2016 1pm – 9:30pm
WHERE: Hayti Heritage Center 804 Old Fayetteville St. Durham, NC 27701
HOW MUCH: Suggested donation of $1 for children and seniors, $3 for adults; No one will be turned away
2016 THEME: THE INDESTRUCTIBLE SEED
The symbol of the day is the Wawa Aba (the seed of the Wawa tree) chosen to affirm the community’s perseverance and genius in the face of struggle.
Wawa Aba “Indestructible Seed” Adinkra Symbol
SCHEDULE PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
1:00pm The Black Candle showing; Kwanzaa documentary film by M.K. Asante
2pm African Marketplace opens- clothing, crafts, food, books, and MORE
2:30pm Cultural Arts Sampler– 20 minute sampler classes for kids and adults offered by local artists and instructors
4pm Chess Village– Chess fun facilitated by 16-year old National Master state Emmanuel Carter
5pm BUMP: The Triangle African Diasporic Music Workshop– music, history, and culture workshop
7pm Candle Lighting Ceremony- hosted by Zayd Malik Shakur and guest appearance by Baba Chuck Davis
7:30pm Performances- featuring Collage Dance Company, music and songs by The Healing Force, original theatrical by Rebecca Jackson-Artis, and surprise tribute to Baba Chuck Davis.
PERFORMERS
THE HEALING FORCE
The Healing Force features Joseph and Gail Anderson, their daughter Sonji Anderson, and their son Karim Anderson. This family of performers/educators has been offering their special brand of music and storytelling in communities all over North Carolina and the country for the past 20 years. They’ve traveled the country and abroad, sharing cultural education and enlightenment through traditional African music, drumming, dancing, and educational experiences. By offering performances, workshops, and residencies in schools, colleges, universities, churches, libraries, at festivals, retreats, camps, after-school programs, and the like, The Healing Force makes their motto, “Serving the Community Through the Arts” come alive!
Rebecca Jackson Artis
Rebecca Jackson-Artis is an actor, comedian, and scriptwriter from Chicago. A graduate 
of Hampton University’s Fine and Performing Arts Department, Rebecca is an MFA candidate at The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communications in screenwriting. She has performed on a number of theatrical stages including Victory Gardens in Chicago and The Second City. She has appeared in films and television as well as performed stand up comedy. Rebecca is a contributing writer for SET Magazine Online and a published playwright. With over seventeen years of professional acting and writing experience, Rebecca also adds to her resume community organizing, education, event planning, and maternal and child health work. Presently, she lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband, (step) daughter, and two sons. She constantly reminds everyone her mother, Antoinette Jackson, is the number one reason she is an advocate for political justice. She dedicates this performance to her father, Philip G. Jackson.
