Black Lives Matter. Black Joy Matters Too.

If we only acknowledge the struggle, we participate in oppression of a different form. Because when the prevailing cultural narrative about a group of people is dominated by struggle, and equal space isn’t held for stories of joy, creativity, ingenuity, love, and warmth, then that narrative offers a limited and slanted view of that group’s humanity. Not only has white supremacy deprived black, indigenous, and people of color of their basic rights, their safety, and their peace, but it has also threatened their ability to be — and to be seen as — complete human beings living the full spectrum of human emotion and existence. It is a subtle form of dehumanization, and particularly insidious because (like all things joy-related) it is so easy to dismiss as frivolous or trivial. Continue reading here.