Thirty years ago, a poet from California moved to Seattle and sought out a group of fellow African American writers. Randee Eddins, a poet, had been a part of similar writing groups elsewhere but couldn’t find an established group here, so she decided to bring one together herself. In February 1992, the group, Seattle’s African American Writers’ Alliance (AAWA), held their first annual reading at Elliott Bay Book Company’s previous Pioneer Square location.
The first-ever Kwanzaa Awards took place on Jan. 8 as an online ceremony that celebrated individuals and organizations, nominated by the community, for embodying Kwanzaa principles. The pandemic prevented an in-person gathering, but the spirit of Kwanzaa shone through in prerecorded candle lighting and libation ceremonies and a candid mother-daughter conversation about Kwanzaa.
