Each December, kids stomp their feet and sway in brightly colored, traditional African skirts at New Bethel Baptist Church in Youngstown. They jump and bow their heads to the rhythm set by a troupe of young drummers.
The children are all a part of the Harambee Youth Organization, a local non-profit that teaches children traditional West African dance. Their movements are how the northeast Ohio community marks the first day of Kwanzaa, the week-long festival honoring African American heritage and culture.
“All of our dance moves are expressions of different aspects of our life, of unity, of coming together,” said Lynette Kimako Miller, founder of the traditional African dancing, singing and drumming group. “Dance is just a way to celebrate and bring people together.”
The secular holiday, which begins every year on December 26th, has been celebrated by millions across the country since its start in 1966. Miller said the Harambee Youth Organization has ushered in the holiday in Youngstown since the organization’s inception more than four decades ago.
Connecting through culture
Miller founded the Harambee Youth Organization in the 1980s as a way to give children in Youngstown something to do. She said there weren't enough opportunities for the youth to display their talents, and she wanted to create more spaces for children to connect with one another.
“The youth are our future, and so we have to invest time and energy into our youth,” Miller said.
Miller was a college student when she founded the dance troupe. She chose dances from West Africa because she wanted to help the African American community in Youngstown preserve its cultural roots.
“We try to connect Black Americans with the Caribbean and with Africa, as a part of their homeland.”
Today, the organization boasts around 150 dancers, singers and drummers, ranging from elementary school children all the way up to high schoolers.
Pulling together
The mission of Miller’s youth group aligns with the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Each day of the week-long holiday celebrates a virtue: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith).
This Nguzo Saba, or Black Value System, holds important lessons for Youngstown’s youth, Miller explained.
“The most important thing is that [the children] learn those principles, embrace those principles and practice those principles which will make our nation, our country, a better country.”
Harambee Youth Organization’s annual Kwanzaa performance focuses on ‘umoja’, or unity. Not only do the children have to come together in harmony to put on their performance, the community gathers around them, cheering them on and lifting them up. Even the name of Miller’s organization comes from an African Swahili word, meaning ‘Let's all pull together.’
“We do a Harambee chant, where we hold our hands in a clutching motion and pull down seven times, saying ‘Harambee’ and hold it as long as we can,” Miller said. “What we're doing is pulling each other together, carrying each other, lifting each other, having each other's back.”
Leaving a legacy
Kwanzaa is just one opportunity for the Harambee performers to showcase African dance. The youth group’s performances extend year-round, touring colleges and universities all over the state. They dance in celebration of weddings, graduations and Black History Month, Miller said.
Miller estimates that thousands of children have come through their door to learn African dance and gain a greater appreciation for their cultural background.
And she doesn’t anticipate that tradition ending anytime soon.
“All of the instructors are former members of Harambee. That's how we've been able to sustain it,” Miller said. “It means something to our community because we have grandparents, parents, youth and children who have all been in Harambee for so many years.”
