{"id":14715,"date":"2024-12-24T15:38:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T15:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=14715"},"modified":"2024-12-24T15:38:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T15:38:47","slug":"diane-gordons-collective-work-of-toledo-kwanzaa-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/24\/diane-gordons-collective-work-of-toledo-kwanzaa-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Diane Gordon\u2019s Collective Work of Toledo Kwanzaa House"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Diane Gordon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Dawn Scotland<\/em>
\nThe Truth Reporter<\/em><\/p>\n

Diane Gordon, the founder and long-time organizer of Kwanzaa in northwest Ohio, has written a book entitled Collective Work of Toledo Kwanzaa House <\/em>\u00a0detailing her experiences and the history of Kwanzaa in Toledo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a passion of mine for the last 50 something years that I\u2019ve presented Kwanzaa to the Toledo community and surrounding areas,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

The book is dedicated to her mother Lola Glover and her Aunt Nola Hunt (deceased)<\/p>\n

\u201dWe celebrated the first Kwanzaa at my aunt\u2019s house,\u201d Gordon recalled. From there she began to invite people, along with her mother and aunt, into her home to have Kwanzaa every year. \u201cThe expansion of the Kwanzaa celebration in my home got so great that I could not do it any longer\u2026 we didn\u2019t have any more space,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n

The celebration expanded to the Grace Community Center with the help of Betty Amison and grew to be hosted at the library, University of Toledo, University of Michigan and many spaces throughout northwest Ohio and southwest Michigan over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt expanded far beyond what I could have imagined. But I was persistent that every year, December 26 through January 1, that OUR people would be celebrating their culture and history and their<\/em> true history. And understanding that we have more power than we really realize when we come together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Created in 1966 by Maulana Ron Karenga, Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates history, values, family, community and culture. (source:nmaahc.si.edu)<\/p>\n

The seven principles celebrated each year are Umoja (Unity); Kujichagulia (Self-determination); Ujima (Collective work and responsibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Nia (Purpose); Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith).<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was important that I leave a legacy for my children, so they know where Kwanzaa started from. And it started in a living room at a home with my mother and my aunt\u2026 this blended family had the courage and understanding of the importance of celebrating Kwanzaa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book is a collection of all the people in this community who have been a part of the Kwanzaa celebration over the years or been a part of the Kwanzaa committee, volunteers, vendors\u2026 It\u2019s been a journey, but it\u2019s been a good journey. It\u2019s been an amazing<\/em> journey,\u201d reflected Gordon.<\/p>\n

Collective Work of Toledo Kwanzaa House<\/em> is 80 pages with vivid color photographs highlighting the history of Kwanzaa in Northwest Ohio. The book is Illustrated by Rachel Montogomery and written by Diane Gordon. It costs $69.95.<\/p>\n

Last year Gordon passed the torch to her grandson, Rodney Gordon, who grew up with the celebration, and Rashid Spencer as coordinators of the Kwanzaa celebration in Toledo. Kwanzaa will be celebrated at the Frederick Douglass Community Center December 26 \u2013 January 1 and also at The Padua Center on January 27.<\/p>\n

A copy of the book is available at the Kent Branch Library Art Tatum Collection.<\/p>\n

To purchase the book contact Diane Gordon directly at 419-410-8022.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dawn Scotland The Truth Reporter Diane Gordon, the founder and long-time organizer of Kwanzaa in northwest Ohio, has written a book entitled Collective Work of Toledo Kwanzaa House \u00a0detailing her experiences and the history of Kwanzaa in Toledo. \u201cIt was a passion of mine for the last 50 something years that I\u2019ve presented Kwanzaa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[270],"class_list":["post-14715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14715"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14715\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14720,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14715\/revisions\/14720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14715"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=14715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}