Black Joy Is Our Birthright - Know This!
When I think of Black Joy, I can't help but be proud of my people for finding ways to function in a system that's been designed to keep us paralyzed. Through it all, we fight tirelessly for the things we love, build communities, and shift our mindset to do right, even in those moments of mistreatment. As we all know, the Black Experience is a combination of pain, suffering, and generational traumas, but imagine if our culture invested in individual gratification; how can we not find ourselves in the space of more joy, celebration, healing, and coming together as one?
As the admirable Black Kings and Queens we are, protecting one another is an act of joy. By honoring our differences, we also have the power to create opportunities for richer life experiences and walk in our authenticity. The Black identity is our birthright, and so is the joy tied to it.
Black Joy Is:
Black joy is finding our happiness despite our history and not letting our history define our future. Yes, we love a good "soft life" storyline, but Black Joy is resilience, whether we like to admit it or not. Black Joy is pouring into our cups as individuals and genuinely incorporating happiness into our daily lifestyles.
Black Joy is knowing we have the power to go inward and unlearn passed-down behaviors to implement relevance into our lives. New realms are waiting for you, love. So get uncomfortable. This joy, in particular, has the power to take us to new levels mentally, spiritually, financially, and even emotionally.
Black Joy is knowing we are deserving of healthy mutual love in our relationships, whether this may be with a family member, friendship, or romantic one. Healthy love is joyous, and we are powerful enough to recreate our version of healthy relationships in the ones we encounter.
Black Joy is Black Excellence - periodt, and black excellence celebrates success within our communities. Success is subjective, but when we see people within our communities reaching levels of their defined success, it's inspiring and has the power to shift the black experience for the better.
For me, Black Joy is reading a piece of James Baldwin's literature while listening to Beyonce or Jazz in the background. It's feeling supported and loved by my people. It's also staying on the path of breaking generational curses (even when the tunnel seems dark and lonely). There is no other joy in making my ancestors proud of me by not giving up and falling victim to this system. Black Joy is finally coming out of the "invisible black girl" space and owning my uniqueness, my voice but more importantly, staying true to my assignment on earth. Black joy is implementing the BCM space for black women to gather and discuss literature, womanhood, singlehood, dating, marriage, and self-confidence and learn from one another along the way.
Simply put, it's a label for positive self-expression or a celebration of our happiness. So I'll repeat it for the people in the back, Black Joy Is Our Birthright!
XXX
-Star 💋