Springfield Kwanzaa celebration, kinara lighting slated for Tuesday morning at City Hall …

Shanna Joseph lit the Kwanzaa Candles as Darryle Moss spoke about Kwanzaa’s Seven Principles as area youth looked on at the 2019 Springfield Citywide Kwanzaa Celebration & Black Wall Street Market taking place at UMass Center in Springfield on December 27th. (Ed Cohen Photo) A Kwanzaa celebration featuring African drumming, poetry and a kinara lighting is slated for Tuesday morning at Springfield City Hall.The ceremony’s keynote speakers include Amilcar Shabazz, a history and Africana studies professor at UMass Amherst, and Demetria Shabazz, an Afro American studies lecturer at UMass Amherst. Mayor Domenic Sarno, joined by the Kwanzaa Collective of Pioneer Valley, will give remarks, the city said in a news release Thursday.Ayanna Crawford, a former Springfield educator and lifelong resident, will serve as the master of ceremonies. The event starts at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in Room 220 at City Hall. A livestream is also available on Springfield’s Facebook page.Kwanzaa, a celebration of life among African-Americans, spans Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, according to the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Maulana Karenga, an Africana studies professor at California State University in Longbeach, is credited with introducing the festival to the United States, according to UPenn.Similar to the Hanukkah…
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