Jackson will celebrate 50th anniversary of Kwanzaa

JACKSON, Tenn. — The annual celebration of family, community and culture known as Kwanzaa began Monday.

Locally, there will be two Kwanzaa Jackson celebrations this during the week-long event. The first will be held 6 p.m., Wednesday at the historic First Baptist Church on Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Drive. This year is the 50th anniversary of Kwanzaa in the United States.

“Tomorrow we will have dancing, we’ll have singing, we’ll have food, fellowship and its’ all about fun,” Society for African American Cultural Awareness President Wendy Trice Martin said. “It’s all about family, it’s all about community and its all about teaching our young.”

The second celebration will feature a potluck and an Afrocentric fashion show Sunday January 1. That event will be at the T.R. White Sportsplex on Hays Avenue starting at 3 p.m.