Share Your Kwanzaa Story to Spread Awareness About the Holiday & Black Culture

Do you or someone you know celebrate Kwanzaa? I’m currently collecting Kwanzaa stories to share during the week of Kwanzaa, and I’d love to share your story to spread awareness around the holiday. If you're interested in sharing your stories, you can share them here. Thanks so much!

More Information on the Project (also included in the survey):

Why This Project: To be completely transparent: I am a white woman. I'd seen "Kwanzaa" written on the calendar for years but never thought much about it; I just assumed it was a religious holiday. That is, until I watched The Quirky Monday Craftcast Vlogmas series in December 2019, where the host, Caleisha, shared about the days and principles of Kwanzaa, and what each one meant to her.

What This Project Is About: With this survey, I would like to collect your Kwanzaa story/stories to share with the knitting community. I will share these stories via my blog (www.snickerdoodleknits.com/blog) or via a separate page dedicated to Kwanzaa stories, located on my website. There will be no monetization of the blog, and I will not be using the stories to make any money. The purpose of this project is solely to share stories from the Black community around the Kwanzaa holiday. I will be sharing your stories December 26, 2020 - January 1, 2021. I will not edit your story in any way. I may, with your permission, select an excerpt of the story to share on Instagram. Within the survey I have provided space for 5 stories/memories. Feel free to complete the survey multiple times to submit additional stories, or email me with your additional stories.

Other Information About the Project: During the week of Kwanzaa I will be directing my followers on Instagram to check out the stories on my blog. I will also be sharing Black makers in my social media. I will not be sharing any of my own content on my feed. (I may share announcements for my business in my Stories.) If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, please feel free to contact me via the contact form on my website.

A Potential Part Two of the Project: There may be a part two of this project; it's still to be determined, and the details would need to be worked out. If there is a part two, it would entail transforming your stories into knit and/or crochet patterns. This may include me as the designer, or Black designers who express interest in the project. If I am the designer, at a minimum, a large portion of the proceeds would go to one or more organizations supporting Black people. The models for the photos would be Black people, the yarns would come from Black dyers, and the purpose, again, for the project would be to amplify Black stories. This part of the project is entirely dependent on your interest in it. It is also dependent on creating a solution where I feel confident that the designs truly amplify Black people and not me (especially if I am the designer). If you are interested in part two of the project, I will work closely with you to ensure that the design properly tells your story from your perspective. Depending on whether or not the project includes other designers, Part Two could be implemented for a release for Kwanzaa 2021, or it could be implemented with one pattern per year for Kwanzaa 2021-2027.

Note that responses are limited to 1000 characters. If you need more room, just email your stories to me.

Please share the survey with your family and friends -- the stories aren't exclusive to the fiber community!