c. 1998 Religion News Service

NEW YORK _ The Kwanzaa Lady is growing concerned.

Kwanzaa, the seven-day festival in which an estimated 18 million African-Americans celebrate family, community and culture from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, she says, is going commercial. “I think it’s being exploited because (some retailers) are charging too much money for things that should be at a reasonable price,”said Janet Robinson, who owns the Kwanzaa Shop on Staten Island, N.Y. and is known throughout the island as the Kwanzaa Lady. “To me, it takes away from what you are trying to do.” Observing Kwanzaa requires a few essential items: A Pan-African flag, a poster enumerating the festival’s seven principles, a straw mat, a unity cup, symbolic fruits and vegetables, and a candle holder, called a kinara, for seven candles _ one black, three red and three green.

But some retailers, Robinson contends, sell Kwanzaa necessities at such steep prices, it discourages poorer people from observing the festival.

For example, a set of seven Kwanzaa candles she sells for $7 can go for twice that in other stores, she said.

What’s more, Kwanzaa has evolved beyond the basics for some: There’s high-end kinara kits, Kwanzaa CD-ROMs, books and videos, Kwanzaa paper to wrap increasingly elaborate gifts, and Kwanzaa greeting cards sold by mainstream companies like Hallmark. This year, American Greetings has even begun selling Kwanzaa angel ornaments.

Critics say trappings like these can cloud the festival’s intended purpose.”It’s not supposed to be about spending a whole lot of money,”Robinson said.”It’s about learning about yourself, your culture and the history of your family and who you are.” Indeed, Kwanzaa was established 32 years ago as a cultural holiday, a time for people of African descent to celebrate and reaffirm seven principles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

But it’s the spirit of the fourth principle _ fostering cooperative economics by supporting black-owned businesses _ that some say is becoming diminished, either by escalating retail prices for Kwanzaa and other Afrocentric goods or because some mainstream businesses are now trying to capitalize on the festival.

At Kwanzaa Fest ’98, a huge exposition held recently at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan, more than 300 business people and artisans gathered for the chance to exhibit and sell to the African-American community.

But the $10 admission price coupled with the high-priced artwork, history books, clothing and other Afrocentric goods typically sold at such fairs precluded many _ especially large families _ from attending or shopping, critics said. “A lot of people would not embrace Kwanzaa for a long time,”Robinson lamented.”But now that they have, they are making it too high for them to get involved.” Even some Kwanzaa Fest vendors complained the high cost for floor space at this year’s event forced them to inflate their prices, which alienated many shoppers, said Patrick Buddington, who owns a New York marketing company and attended the expo to conduct demographic research.

Still, he added, events like Kwanzaa Fest offer legitimate opportunities for blacks to launch fledgling businesses and for established companies to expand by reaching wider markets.

To think otherwise, he said, goes against the true spirit of Kwanzaa. “Kwanzaa purists have started taking it too literally,”he complained.”It has become a religion and that defeats the purpose.””For us, this is an opportunity for a lot of little companies to come together and sell to the community,”said Yolanda Windom, who staffed a table of fragrances, incense and oils, including a Kwanzaa jar candle that smells of a blend of Ralph Lauren’s Polo and strawberry essence. “No, Kwanzaa hasn’t gotten too commercial yet,”she opined.

Others, however, view the increased commercial aspects of Kwanzaa as a plus. “As more people come to know about Kwanzaa, it leads to a wider range of possibilities for observing it,”noted Okera Ras I, a New York video producer who was at the fair hawking”Kwanzaa Kwest,”a video for kids. “The ways of celebrating haven’t changed, but because of increased awareness, there are more (opportunities) to celebrate Kwanzaa,”which leads to the availability of more Kwanzaa products, he added.

Still, Robinson is unconvinced that anything but the basics _ sold at reasonable prices _ are necessary to celebrate Kwanzaa. “I try to make it as simple as possible,”she said.”And I try to let people know there are affordable ways they can celebrate it.”

DEA END PAQUETTE