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Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter Presents 4th Annual Kwanzaa Krawl
SAVANNAH (Dec. 18, 2023) – Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter will present the fourth annual Kwanzaa Krawl, taking place at various restaurants throughout the city nightly at 7 p.m. beginning Monday, Dec. 26 through Sunday, Jan. 1.
This weeklong event, and the 40th annual citywide celebration, will showcase local restaurants, artists, and vendors who help make the Savannah African-American culture one-of-a-kind. Donations and proceeds collected throughout the week will benefit Save Our Youth Savannah.
Each night, a restaurant will serve as the host site and a selection of local elected leaders will be on-site to greet and engage guests. There will be music each night featuring Royal Ethiopian Sound. In addition, local historians & speakers will offer expressions for each principle.
A Kwanzaa Krawl Kick-off will be held on Monday, Dec. 25 at 3 p.m. at the African American Monument on River Street.
A heritage holiday, Kwanzaa is a celebration of peace and unity in the African-American community, a time to uplift the culture and history. Defined by a set of shared beliefs, Kwanzaa can be recognized by everyone from all walks of life.
More than 50 years ago, Kwanzaa was created in response to civil unrest among African-Americans in California. Thus, the goal of the holiday is to bring African-Americans together as a collective community.
In 2020, Alderwoman Gibson-Carter identified an opportunity to build on the community’s annual holiday by amplifying the principles of Kwanzaa with a focus on promoting peace and evoking love in the community.
Co-organizer and historian, Dr. Amir Jamal Touré, will be joined by other local storytellers, lecturers, poets, authors, and teachers.
They will usher in the spirit of the holiday, by offering demonstrations of one of the seven principles:
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, 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.
All are invited and encouraged to support the restaurants by purchasing a meal and/or patronizing vendors.
Kwanzaa Krawl Itinerary:
Day 1: UMOJA
Tuesday, Dec. 26
B. NICOLE BISTRO
1639 E. Victory Drive
Featuring: Dr. Amir J. Toure
Day 2: KUJICHAGULIA
Wednesday, Dec. 27
2 CHEFS GULLAH GEECHEE
2007 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Featuring: Amen Kush
Day 3: UJIMA
Thursday, Dec. 28
KOOL VIBES PIZZA & WINGS
4501 Montgomery St.
Featuring: Lillian Baptiste
Day 4: UJAMAA
Friday, Dec. 29
ODYSSEY 2.0
65 W. Fairmont Ave.
Featuring: Temakha Maakheru
Day 5: NIA
Saturday, Dec. 30
KREOLE KITCHEN
1800 E. Victory Dr.
Featuring: Darien Harper
Day 6: KUUMBA
Sunday, Dec. 31
KIM’S CAFE
714 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Featuring: Randy Quarterman
Day 7: IMANI
Monday, Jan. 1
UNFORGETTABLE
DELI & BAKERY
238 Eisenhower Dr.
Featuring: Salt Wata Players