As Mohamed DaCosta beated the djembe drum, attendees walked into the A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center Friday evening to listen to two presentations: the history of Kwanzaa and the significance of the day’s principle.
Carol Richardson, cultural affairs manager for the city of Gainesville’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs department, said the Kwanzaa celebration was the third time the museum hosted it, and it gave residents an opportunity to listen to “two jewels of the community.”
Local Gainesville artist Turbado Marabou gave a presentation on the history of Christmas and Kwanzaa, and local community activist and historian Kali Blount gave a lecture about the Nguzo Saba of Kwanzaa, which in Swahili stands for the seven principles.
“This is an opportunity to bring the community together to learn from one another,” Richardson said.
Richardson shared how the celebration to be hosted at the museum is very fitting because it is a testament to the self-determination A. Quinn Jones had the teachers around him to make Lincoln High School a success.