By Jonathan Gramling
Although he was in the midst of taking his finals at the UW Law
School, Arlington Davis had to know how the African American
Ethnic Academy’s (AAEA) Kwanzaa Celebration was going at the
Biopharmaceutical Technology Center Institute on December 15.
Davis, the AAEA’s business manager, kept trying to reach the staff
on their cell phones to no avail. Everyone was into that old-time
Kwanzaa feeling.
Through an African-centeredness approach, the AAEA teaches pre-
school through middle school students — every Saturday — basic
educational skills while they also learn about their culture and how
to present themselves and handle themselves in public settings.
And from the look and feel of the performances at the Kwanzaa
Celebration, AAEA is having a big impact on the students’ outlook
on life. From counting to ten in Swahili to learning about
astronomy and the stars through the exploits of Harriet Tubman, the
students at AAEA are becoming academically and culturally
prepared to meet adult challenges. “We really want people to
understand what is happening on an academic level and how we
are nurturing the student’s mind, body and spirit,” said Andreal
Davis, the AAEA’s program director. “It’s a testimony to what is going
on at the academy throughout the semester.”
Davis and the AAEA also want the parents and community
members to come with a good feeling about the Nguzo Saba
principles — Kwanzaa’s seven principles — the students are
learning every Saturday. “Most people were commenting about the
feeling they had during the performance,” Davis said. “That’s really
what we were going for. A lot of times, we want people to really
hone in and focus on the performance piece, but we really got a lot
of feedback from people about how they felt during the celebration.
That’s what we were going for in the true spirit of African-
centeredness.
It’s a feeling that several generations of AAEA students and their
parents have learned and a feeling that Arlington Davis will surely
not miss next year. Get into the spirit of Kwanzaa.
| African American Ethnic Academy’s Kwanzaa Celebration Old time Kwanzaa feeling |