RICHMOND, Va. β Kwanzaa can have many different meanings for everyone, but for one Central Virginia man, he's calling this year's holiday a full circle moment. After nearly 30 years behind bars, he's finally able to celebrate during Richmond Kwanzaa Fest as a free man.
"It's a little overwhelming, but it's a good feeling," Harry Traynham said. "It's a good thing. It's positive."
Kwanzaa is a holiday with a lot of different meanings, but one meaning hits differently this year for first-time attendee Traynham.
"For me, it's a full circle moment, something to align myself with to be more positive during these holiday times," Traynham said.
"The philosophies of Kwanzaa is one of the things that helped me through a dark transition in my lifetime," Traynham said.
These days he says he sees things in a whole different light as drumming and dancing filled the Richmond celebration.
"I just came home and this is my first time actually seeing Kwanzaa practiced outside of prison walls," Traynham said.
Imani Bell with the Elegba Folklore Society says that the freedom Traynham enjoys now is an essential principle of the seven-day holiday.
"That's so affirming to hear that he chose to want to come and experience his first Kwanzaa celebration with community and with our community," Bell said.
"I think that Kwanzaa represents freedom for all of us all the time and for him, yes, especially," Bell explained. "Kwanzaa is a celebration that was founded in the black power movement, and the Civil Rights Movement, where African-Americans were empowering themselves and saying, 'I'm black and I'm proud β say it loud.' And saying that we had heritage and we have tradition that belong to us."
The Kwanzaa Festival has been going on in Richmond for over 30 years, almost as long as Traynham says he was incarcerated. He says the freedom to celebrate the African holiday for the first time feels a lot different up close.
"We have a lot of brothers in there that taught me the principles of Kwanzaa. A lot of elderly prisoners that took the time," Traynham said. "So when you come out here and actually get to smell it, to see it. It's like that aha moment. Oh, this is what they were talking about. This is why they were telling us to embrace these principles, because out here you see it in practice," Traynham said.
Bell serves as production manager for the Elegba Folklore Society.
"Today's principle is Kujichagulia: self-determination. Self-determination to define ourselves, name ourselves and speak for ourselves. And so when I hear stories like that, it sounds like that brother is right on track," Bell said.
As the sounds of Kwanzaa drumming filled the air, Traynham reflected on his journey.
"Life is more than the circumstances that we face and we have the ability to change the circumstances that we're dealing with," Traynham said. "If you want to be unified, just practice unity. If you want to be together, just come together."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
