Our Annual African-American Heritage Celebrations

Kwanzaa:  December 26 - January 1

• Kwanzaa is a non-religious annual tradition that celebrates seven principles that can help guide us to be our best selves in community with others: 1. Unity; 2. Self-Determination; 3. Collective Work and Responsibility; 4. Cooperative Economics; 5. Purpose; 6. Creativity; and 7. Faith in our collective humanity. Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. Kwanzaa is not an African tradition.  It is rather an African-American cultural tradition that was created by activist Maulana Karenga as a way to help reconnect African-Americans to their cultural roots in Africa.  Kwanzaa is based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

Martin Luther King Junior (MLK) Day: Third Monday of January

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.,[1] and often referred to shorthand as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. Born in 1929, King's actual birthday is January 15 (which in 1929 fell on a Tuesday). The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21.  Dr. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later on January 20, 1986. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.

Black History Month: February

• Black History Month is an annual celebration of African Americans' achievements and their central role in U.S. history.  While we may offer free curriculum and other programs in acknowlegement of Black History Month, Clemmons Family Farm's mission is to build awareness of and appreciation for African American history, art, culture, and the achievements of the peoples of the African diaspora every day, throughout the year. 

Juneteenth: June 19

• Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans.  Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, issued by Major General Gordon Granger on June 19, 1865, proclaiming freedom for enslaved Africans in Texas, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 had already declared that all enslaved Africans in the United States free.  Juneteenth is also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day, and Juneteenth Independence Day.