December 12, 2023
Provided Image/Mama Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza
Mama Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza works on the 9-foot kinara that will be on display outside at City Hall from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 in celebration of Kwanzaa.
A kinara sculpture will be placed outside City Hall for the first time later this month in observance of Kwanzaa, the secular holiday that celebrates pan-African and African culture.
The kinara will be displayed from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 alongside the city's Christmas tree and menorah at the southwest corner of Penn Square. The seven-branched candleholder is used to observe Kwanzaa's seven days and recognize its seven principles.
The 10-foot sculpture was created by Mama Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza, a founding member and chair of the Kwanzaa Cooperative, a group that teaches people about the holiday. Sullivan-Ongoza, who also leads kinara-making workshops, was recommended for the project, but it took a team of six people to complete. The communal build, she said, fits with the Kwanzaa principle of collective work.
"(Working on this project) is an honor because it's my city and as an artisan its always good to see your designs come to fruition, actually see it beyond your mind's eye," Sullivan-Ongoza said. "To see when it's finally manifested, it's a great thing and then it just lets me know how fortunate I am to have people who looked out for me, to do the work."
This kinara includes Kwanzaa symbols like corn, the unity cup and crops. It's made of wood and wired for lighting.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks, the Kwanzaa Cooperative, Visit Philadelphia, Welcome America and the Department of Parks and Recreation came together to put a kinara on display at City Hall for the first time.
Philadelphia has displayed a Christmas tree since 1913 and a menorah since 1974, Brooks said. The kinara sculpture is a way to bring Kwanzaa to the heart of the city, she said.
"Displaying this beautiful, original piece of artwork at City Hall affirms the history and perseverance of Black people in Philadelphia and will help to educate visitors about the meaning and importance of Kwanzaa," Brooks said in an email. "During a very busy holiday season, the kinara reminds us to take time to recommit to our values, our purpose, our family and our community. It helps us to connect to the wisdom and strength that have sustained generations of Black people across the African diaspora.”
A city celebration, complete with a lighting of the kinara, will be held Tuesday, Dec. 26 – the first day of Kwanzaa. The Free Library and the African American Museum in Philadelphia will host additional Kwanzaa celebrations later this month. Brooks also plans to introduce a resolution that recognizes the city's Kwanzaa celebration and honors the Kwanzaa Cooperative's efforts to bring about Philly's first kinara.
Sullivan-Ongoza began working on the sculpture in early November. But it wasn't the first large-scaled kinara she has created. In 2020, she built a 6-foot kinara that was displayed outside of New York City Hall.
She said Philly officials first considered displaying a kinara years ago, and that she's been at the table for every discussion. Now, it's happened.
"It's not just my accomplishment, it's the accomplishment of African American people," Sullivan-Ongoza said. "So we want to make sure we put forth the best product that represents the holiday and is dignity affirming, and that it's built on the principles, working with other people to make sure it gets done."
Sullivan also was engaged in the efforts to put up a Harriet Tubman statue in the city. As a member of the Celebrating the Legacy of Nana Harriet Tubman Committee, Sullivan-Ongoza was a vocal critic of the city's initial decision to commission Wesley Wofford, a white man, to sculpt the statue. Wofford's traveling Harriet Tubman statue was displayed outside City Hall in 2022, and city officials asked him to design a permanent statue. After pushback, the city opened the selection process and Alvin Pettit's design was selected in October.
