Black Joy 12/12

What is Black Joy

• Why Black Joy

• In what ways is joy antidote to oppression

• Celebreation of the resilienc, creativity and beauty of black people in the face of systemic oppression and historical trauma(Lewis Giggetts 2022)

  • Emphasizes moments of happiness, pride, humor, cultural expression that affirm Black identity and history rather than focusing solely on trauma or suffering

  • Can be embodied through the arts, shared cultural traditions, community building, everyday interactions, fun, groups with shared interest, and more

  • Antidote to othering, double consciousness, internalized racism, reductive controlling images and other manifestations of structural racism

    • Also a form of resistance: thriving and preserving joy despite hardship; joy is humanizing

    • Refusal to be defined solely by oppression, trauma, and pain (and repeated media images of black pain)