Title: The Black Joy Project
Author: Kleaver Cruz
Genre: Nonfiction Social Science
Publishing Date : December 19, 2023
Publisher: Mariner/Harper Collins
Rating 💥💥💥💥💥
About the book:
Featuring 117 full-color photos and eight breathtaking essays on a force that fuels Black life all around the globe, this is Humans of New York meets The Black Book
Black Joy is everywhere. From the bustling streets of Lagos to hip-hop blasting through apartment windows in the Bronx. From the wide-open coastal desert of Namibia to the lush slopes of Jamaica’s Blue Mountains. From the thriving tradition of Candomblé in Bahia to the innovative and trendsetting styles of Soweto, and beyond, Black Joy is present in every place that Black people exist. Now—at last—is a one-of-a-kind celebration of this truth and a life-giving testament to one of the most essential forces that fuels Black life: The Black Joy Project.
International in the scale, fist-raising in the prose, and chockfull of gorgeous works by dozens of acclaimed artists, The Black Joy Project does what no other book has ever done. In words and art, it puts joy on the same track as protest and resistance … because that is how life is actually lived. Uprisings in the street, with music as accompaniment. Heartbreaking funerals followed by second line parades. Microaggressions in the office, then coming home to a warm hug and a garden of lilacs. The list goes on. Black Joy is always held in tension with broader systemic wounds. It is a powerful, historically important salve that allows us to keep going and reimagine new ways of being. The Black Joy Project captures these dual realities to incredible, unforgettable effect.
The brainchild of educator and activist Kleaver Cruz, The Black Joy Project is an extension of a real-world initiative of the same name. It has become a source of healing and regeneration for Black people of all backgrounds and identities. Long overdue and somehow still worth the wait, The Black Joy Project is a necessary addition for any book lover, art enthusiast, or freedom fighter. And begs the question, What does Black Joy mean to you?
My Thoughts:
One of the beginning questions the book asks is " What Does Black Joy Mean to You". For many Black people across the diaspora, that might be hard to answer because our collective history is full of ancestors being terrorized, killed, maimed, enslav3d and brutalized. I'm still having a hard time coming up with an answer, although I'm sure those around me will gleefully shout "Books and Coffee". And while that may be true and part of it, the question I think goes a little deeper than that. One of my favorite things about this book is how no matter what, Joy is defined differently to the individual. This book is full of wisdom and joyful and beautifully eye-catching pictures that will surley make you think and more than likely put a smile on your face. It is one that is needed in every household across the diaspora. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book
"Black Joy is the possibility that one day all the trauma that sits in the body will be released and the body will learn healing like a language it has always known"
About the Author
Kleaver Cruz (they/them) is a Black, queer, Dominican-American writer and educator from New York City. Cruz is the creator of The Black Joy Project, a digital and real-world affirmation that Black Joy is resistance. The Black Joy Project has been featured in British Vogue, Vibe.com, the Huffington Post and various other publications in print and online. Cruz is a member of We Are All Dominican, a U.S.-based, grassroots collective that works in solidarity with movements led by Dominicans of Haitian descent fighting for inclusion and citizenship rights in the Dominican Republic. Cruz is also an alum of the Voices of Our Nations Arts (VONA) Foundation’s Emerging Writers Non-Fiction Workshop and the Kenyon Review Writers Fiction Workshop.
IG: @theblackjoyproject
https://kleavercruz.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment