27 december 1968 & kwanzaa

#OTD 27 December 1968 Kwanzaa was celebrated in DC. The above photograph features Jacqueline Kilkenny lighting candles during Kwanzaa in 1975.

The photo caption states:

“Jacqueline Kilkenny lights candles in the Kwanzaa display in her Silver Spring home. About a million blacks now celebrate Kwanzaa as an alternative to the “economic exploitation and spiritual poverty of Christmas.”

Your comments are welcome below. Did you, a family member or neighbor attend a public celebration of Kwanzaa in 1968? What do you remember about it? Do you have photographs and other ephemera? Was Melvin Deal there? Did you celebrate Kwanzaa in your home in 1968? How did you celebrate? Did you make or purchase items? If the former, how and what did you make? If the latter, where did you purchase items? Do you still have your Kwanzaa items from 1968? You may comment privately here.

Photo source: Courtesy of DC Public Library Special Collections. Evening Star Photo Collection. 25 December 1975. Ray Lustig, photographer.