Youth of the city take a front seat during the citywide Kwanzaa Celebration

By Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.D. Bringing the youth into the spotlight was a major focus of the citywide Kwanzaa week in Winston-Salem that ran from Dec. 26 – Jan. 1. The North Carolina Black Repertory Company collaborated with the Greater Vision Dance Ensemble to present a Kwanzaa story called “The Name of the Tree” written by India Mack, the managing director of the NCBRC. They performed for the nights of Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) on Dec. 28 at the William C. Sims Center in Happy Hill Gardens and at the evening of Nia (Purpose) on Dec. 30 at the Central Library. During the gathering at the Central library, the Monica & Jerome International Dance Experience presented an African dance, along with the two companies. The productions involved dynamic African dancing and vibrant storytelling in flowing, vivid African garments. The honoree for the night of Ujima was Apostle Edith Jones, the president emeritus of the Happy Hill Neighborhood Association (HHNA). The honorees for the Nia celebrations were Yolanda Foster Bolden, the director of the Forsyth County Public Central Library, and Sheryl Session, who was the magnet coordinator and community engagement coordinator at Ashley Academy.  The speaker for the Ujima night was...