Synopsis
A timely collection of deeply personal, uplifting, and powerful essays that celebrate the redemptive strength of Black joy—in the vein of Black Girls Rock, You Are Your Best Thing, and I Really Needed This Today.
When Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts wrote an essay on Black joy for The Washington Post, she had no idea just how deeply it would resonate. But the outpouring of responses affirmed her own lived experience: that Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it is a tool for resilience.
With this book, Tracey aims to gift her community with a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even in the midst of trauma, in her own life. Detailing these instances of joy in the context of Black culture allows us to recognize the power of Black joy as a resource to draw upon, and to challenge the one-note narratives of Black life as solely comprised of trauma and hardship.
Black Joy is a collection that will recharge you. It is the kind of book that is passed between friends and offers both challenge and comfort at the end of a long day. It is an answer for anyone who needs confirmation that they are not alone and a brave place to quiet their mind and heal their soul.
The Good
*It gave me things to chew on: (look in thoughts section at the end of this review)
*Chapter 30 probably was my favorite.
*There are really profound moments that stood out to me.
The Bad
*I think it missed interesting questions and directions it could have went down at times to go the most obvious one. Then again I am honestly feeling like most areas of discourse is being limited by going over the same areas in the same way.
* Repetitive. Does it reiterate the same point(s)?
Thoughts & Feelings
I. Whiteness
A. Whiteness has such a chokehold on Blackness . – The overwhelming centering of whiteness is in the way of Black imaginations and restoration.
B. We give so much power to whiteness. What probably really frustrates me is we do not get far enough to dig deeper to get to certain conversations because so much of our voice is given to talking about whiteness.
C. You have to find your direction/purpose outside the white gaze.
II. Trauma
A. Pessimism: There is a growing Black pessimism we need to talk about.
Many are bracing for impact because of the constant of Black violence.
How do we address the issues happening and still keep our optimism? How do we stop bracing for impact?
Also read: You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience – which talked about and had a possible solution to this.
B. Society rewards Black trauma – I wonder if this type of reward traps certain people with specific trauma(s)?
I think folks who are constantly in the middle of these conversations around/about whiteness are psychologically harmed in certain ways.
C. Two Edged Sword: Trauma & Joy
On one hand we don’t talk trauma/our hurts enough while on the other hand there is not enough restoration.
It would be interesting looking collectively and individually how we talk Black joy & trauma.
There is an obsession with Black folks pain/trauma it is like so weird. What annoys me (and many other Black people honestly) is when there is so much emphasis on our pain that there is no room for our joy.
I feel that there is a perception that our only trauma/pain/emotional space is race related.
III. Restoration:
A. What do you do to release your pain/trauma? To heal?
B. The expectation for Black women bodies to do healing and not to be healed was an interesting point.
C. I am interested in the manifestations of our traumas. I believe there is catharsis and healing in naming our traumas.
Our bodies generationally have been violated (sexually/nonsexually) that manifests in how we view touch.
IV. Religion: Has been used to harm and heal.
A. I think Black people attach to religion to circumnavigate white supremacy. Religion is used as a force to protect against the massive insidious force that is white supremacy. Also, I believe there is a connection with religion & accepting uncertainty.
B. The tussle of grace vs vengeance especially as religious people whose religion is about forgiveness in systems where there is seemingly no justice.
VI. Black joy:
A. It can be small and simple.
B. It can be selfish- or more about self.
C. We have to access it outside whiteness and maybe sometimes Black folks.
D. It does not have to be a movement. There is something about how society makes us (Black folks) feel everything we do has to be a rebellion/statement.
E. At the same time Black joy is a statement/rebellion
F. We have to address/speak on our pain & trauma and joy.
G. What does Black joy require of us? What do we feel we have to give up and gain to access it?
H. Intergenerational joy. I thought this was an interesting term that was mentioned because at times it can feel like we are vilifying our ancestors with the way we speak about them like all they passed down is pain. Untrue.
I think (I know) there are manifestations of joy from us which would have been a good topic to explore more on.
I. We have to write our joy in.
I won this book in a giveaway on goodreads from Gallery Books
themollyweather 