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WHAT IS BLACK JOY? SEE IT THROUGH THE EYES OF THESE GROUNDBREAKING ARTISTS

Black creators chronicle the experiences that nourish their communities.

On a sweltering day in Southeast Washington, D.C., community members splash in
the water from a fire hydrant, a traditional summertime activity in some Black
urban neighborhoods. "It's an innocent rebellious act of freedom," says
photographer Dee Dwyer.
Dee Dwyer
ByRachel Jones
Published June 14, 2022
• 12 min read
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The joy of love, a healthy childbirth, connecting with dear friends, a beautiful
sunset—these are things that all people can feel. But Black joy is mined from a
different vein of human experience.

Black joy concedes that, yes, we are a happy people. But don’t get it twisted.
We are happy that we can function in a system that was designed to keep us
obedient, invisible, and disenfranchised. Happy that we are strong, that we can
fight, tooth and nail, be it for our communities, our rights, our health—and
yes, for our country. Happy that we can move forward after witnessing one
brutally televised police-related murder after another. Happy that we can bend a
knee, but still be unbowed.

Black joy is the Fourth of July firecracker of human emotions. Intentional,
symbolizing independence, blazing fierce, shooting sparks that sear the memory.

Black artists channel, nurture, and reveal Black joy. They paint, sing, weave,
and knit. They make, and they build. They write, and they play. They tell the
stories that only we know—and they keep alive our history.

In the images and videos that follow, Black visual artists and photographers
chronicle the untold stories, traditions, and celebrations that compound into
the bittersweet experience of Black joy.

Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
At 74, Janice Reynolds is the oldest living woman descendant of the Stevens
family. At left, she consults a Magic 8 Ball with granddaughters Aya and
Michelle. At right, she gathers with the family's younger generations in the
driveway of her childhood home in South Jamaica, Queens, New York.
Laila Annmarie Stevens
0:23

For Boundless Journeys

In Laila Annmarie Stevens's video ode to the beauty of Black skin, Black hair,
and Black life, Denali Thomas recites their poem "The Drop-Off."
Laila A. Stevens

BLACK JOY IS TELLING OUR STORIES

Perhaps another photographer would have recognized the look Leila Jackson gave
her mother during the hearings that would make Ketanji Brown Jackson the first
Black woman to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. But Sarahbeth Maney—Black and
Latina—was the one who captured the pert smile that told the world, “Mama,
you’ve got this. History is yours.”

Growing up in a predominantly white area, “I struggled to feel seen,” says
Maney. “I didn’t know many people who could relate to my experience.” Now she’s
finding untold stories through her own lens.

George McKenzie Jr. uses his lens to insert the Black community into a field
where it has little representation: wildlife photography. “I discovered a
greater appreciation of the natural world through the lens of a camera in
largely urban surroundings,” he says. “I wanted to share stories that were not
being told from my perspective, not only through a camera lens, but through my
cultural lens as well.”

Domonique Walker, Allanah Garcia, Noey Guess, and Bobbi Perfection pose beside
Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, for a photo representing the meaning of
sisterhood.
Sarahbeth Maney
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“She is the heart of our family,” says Rachel Elise Thomas of her grandmother
Oneida. Thomas created this collage in Oneida’s honor, using items from women in
her family: “The picture of the young woman in the collage is my grandmother
when she was 19. The handwritten note in the envelope was found in my mother's
recipe book; it's a dump cake recipe that my grandmother had written down. The
envelope is from a birthday card my sister gave me, and the yellow roses are
from a vintage flower advertisement."
Collage created by Rachel Elise Thomas. Gif created by Rebekah Barlas.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Pigeons soar above New York City in an image by George McKenzie Jr. "I find joy
in being able to open up the eyes of young children of color to become
conservationists," says the wildlife photographer.
George McKenzie Jr.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

BLACK JOY IS LIVING OUR TRADITIONS

Bathe the chicken in buttermilk overnight. Trace the pattern for the next square
of that quilt. Palm and roll the roots of a coily crown of locs until they’re
secure. Such traditions and rituals bring joy.

“My family and I enjoy traditional cook outs, jumping double Dutch rope,” says
photographer Dee Dwyer, whose work is rooted in Southeast Washington, D.C.—the
capitol being the first major city in the United States with a majority Black
population. “The music plays loudly through speakers, and dirt bikers [and] ATV
riders come through sprinkling their good energy in the neighborhood. It's a
vibe only for real folks to enjoy.”

For Akilah Townsend, Black joy is the tradition of empathy and compassion that
she says she has witnessed throughout her life.

“From my family, strangers, aunties, etc.—I'm reminded of it when I see our
capacity to give, even when we may lack,” she says. “In times of tragedy, when
the victims are those who may have even been violent to us, we have a capacity
to seek healing even for them. There is a certain quality of grounded-ness that
we have, that expresses itself in forms of love.”

0:22

In Washington, D.C., people on dirt bikes and ATVs “ride confidently and
unapologetically as a pack in a parade style formation doing tricks on their
bikes,” says Dee Dwyer, who is making a documentary about bike life culture.
Dee Dwyler
Wheelie Wayne demonstrates his skills on his Banshee quad bike in Baltimore, his
hometown. Wayne's dedication to bike life culture has led to him being called a
godfather to this unique community.
Dee Dwyer
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Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Four generations of Laverne Brackens' family have been involved in the tradition
of quiltmaking. Brackens, who lives in Fairfield, Texas, says her designs
sometimes come to her in her dreams.
Montinique Monroe
During the 2020 election season, local organizers drove through Southeast D.C.
playing GoGo music out of loudspeakers and encouraging residents to get out and
vote. People danced to the eclectic sound as it passed by.
Dee Dwyer
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
These images taken on the South Side of Chicago are an ode to memories of
"summertime Chi," says photographer Akilah Townsend. "We would put on our best
outfit, cleanest [Nike] Air Force 1s, and go 'outside.' Music would be blasting
from the old school cars and there would be a pure form of Black joy on
display." Nana (left) plays with his son Kyri. Rob (right) and the two young men
behind him represent "little shorty" and the older guys in the neighborhood who
would step in to protect him, says Townsend.
Akilah Townsend

BLACK JOY IS CELEBRATING OUR CULTURE

I am the dream and the hope of my mother’s grandparents Henry and Mary Jen
Jessie, both born to former slaves in South Carolina during the 1870s. I did not
expect to wipe tears from my laptop keyboard on the day the U.S. Senate
confirmed the first female African American Supreme Court Justice. I did not
expect to lift both arms over my head, palms facing upward, and shout
“Hallelujah!”

Black joy is a stamped ticket that the foremothers and forefathers scrimped to
buy for us. You can see it in the glide and stride of HBCU band members, whose
frenetic precision seems fueled by Terpsichore herself. It’s in the painted and
bejeweled faces of Afro-Caribbean dancers during parades in Flatbush, Brooklyn.

Though trouble may come, Black joy provides freedom. “As Nina Simone stated,
‘I’ll tell you what freedom is to me. No fear!’” Dwyer says. “That’s what you’re
experiencing while in these moments or state of mind. It’s peace! … a mixture of
your best summer day in your most stylish outfit topped with revolution to put
humanity first.”

Because that humanity was always there, even when others tried to kill it. Maybe
we’re just giddy that we made it through.

0:19

The marching band of Savannah State University, an HBCU, departs the Hard Rock
Stadium in style after a 2018 football game against the University of Miami.
Asha Stuart
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
At a scaled-down 2021 Labor Day celebration in New York City, Pam Johnson (left)
sports a blue carnival costume designed by Sesame Flyers, a Caribbean
organization, and a young masquerader (right) displays a variety of Caribbean
flags.
Christianna Cox
A friend styles Noey Guess’s hair in preparation for a photoshoot for
Sistarhood, her apothecary business, in Oakland, California. Guess makes and
sells apothecary products as a way to sustain herself and to provide for her
community.
Sarahbeth Maney
Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
Many of which are members of Black Women Photographers, The
contributors Sarahbeth Maney, Laila Annmarie Stevens, Montinique Monroe, Rachel
Elise Thomas, George Mckenzie Jr, Dee Dwyer Jonts, Christianna Cox,Asha Stuart,
and Akilah Townsend have worked to cover photography, videography, and art
surrounding local, community-based and world-wide storytelling.
Rachel Jones is Director of Journalism Initiatives for the National Press
Foundation and a frequent contributor to National Geographic.
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