Lighting the Kwanzaa candles in Ogden
On Wednesday evening, around three dozen people gathered at the Second Baptist Church on the edge of downtown Ogden for the Community Kwanzaa Celebration.
At Ogden’s 13th annual celebration, storytellers spun tales, young kids made crafts and a group of teen musicians performed. Everyone at the church that night shared in dinner, history and the lighting of traditional candles.
The holiday of Kwanzaa was founded in the 1960s as a way to celebrate African and African American culture, community and family. Over the past 50 years, Kwanzaa’s popularity has fluctuated, but Betty Sawyer - who organized Ogden’s celebration - says there has been a growth in interest in recent years.
“People are looking for something foundational, less commercial,” said Sawyer, who also views the growth as being tied to a new struggle for civil rights.
Kwanzaa is celebrated over seven days at the tail end of December. Each day is devoted to a specific principle: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
Lead Option BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 04-3Jaelyn Sawyer, 3, watches as community members light the traditional candles at the Community Kwanzaa Celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, at Second Baptist Church in Ogden. Kwanzaa is celebrated over seven days and each day a new candle is lit. Every day is devoted to one of seven principles. Wednesday, the second day of Kwanzaa, was focused on Kujichagulia or self-determination.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
Lead Option BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 01Betty Sawyer helps her granddaughter, Jaelyn Sawyer, left, and Brock James, right, read a card about prominent individuals in Black history at the Community Kwanzaa Celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017 at Second Baptist Church in Ogden. This was the 13th year for the annual Ogden event that celebrates African and African American culture and communities.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
Seconday BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 02-1Drake Bratton, left, watches bandmates Nya Greene and Donald Greene as they play "Kwanzaa Yenu Iwe Na Heri" at the Community Kwanzaa Celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, at Second Baptist Church in Ogden. Around three dozen people gathered for the family event that featured music, food, storytelling and crafts.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
Secondary BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 03-2The Rev. Charles Petty, left, and Gerod Sawyer joke around while making crafts at the Community Kwanzaa Celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, at Second Baptist Church in Ogden. Kwanzaa was started in the United States in the 1960s. Betty Sawyer, who organized Wednesday's celebration, say she has seen a growth in interest and participation in the holiday in recent years.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 05The Project Success Coalition and Second Baptist Church hosted a community Kwanzaa celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, in Ogden. The winter holiday celebrates African and African American culture, families, and communities.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 06-1The Project Success Coalition and Second Baptist Church hosted a community Kwanzaa celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, in Ogden. The winter holiday celebrates African and African American culture, families, and communities.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 07-2The Project Success Coalition and Second Baptist Church hosted a community Kwanzaa celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, in Ogden. The winter holiday celebrates African and African American culture, families, and communities.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner
BZ 122717 Kwanzaa 08-3The Project Success Coalition and Second Baptist Church hosted a community Kwanzaa celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017, in Ogden. The winter holiday celebrates African and African American culture, families, and communities.
BENJAMIN ZACK/Standard-Examiner