The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz

I’m interested in the revolutionary potential of joy, and to that effect I decided to check out The Black Joy Project by Kleaver Cruz. The Black Joy Project celebrates and promotes diverse narratives of Black experience and in this text Cruz offers an overview of the projects aim, some of the diasporic history that necessitates it. 

The book is informative and offers good insight into some historical factors for the Black diaspora. In particular, Cruz gives some background into the Dutch colonization of Suriname, which I feel is underrepresented in historical accounts. While that stands out, Cruz provides excellent context for a number of countries and strives to reflect the experience of a number of Black communities; another highlight is pointing to Haiti as a model for historic revolution and resolve.

The book offers a reasonable balance of principles and specific initiatives. There’s an emphasis on joyful and small-scale interactions, including things as simple as having a photo booth at a conference to capture the joy of Black attendees, sharing Black joy on social media to keep it front and center, and so on.

When it comes to principles, there were a few things that stood out within Cruz’s framework:

1) Cruz emphasizes that we need to think beyond the revolution. If our prime motivation is for the revolution, Cruz points out that it’s somewhat short sighted—we need to think of the day after the revolution and envision the joy it will hold. That keeps us motivated and focused on our goals, not mired in the process and living just for the fight.

2) Drawing from the spirit of improv, Cruz refers to the “yes and” principle as our modus operandi in doing this work. It’s clear that there’s a history of trauma in a number of Black communities and ongoing injustice and suffering. Cruz takes a “yes and” to traumatic stories: for example, to the statement “America has continually mistreated their Black communities” Cruz might respond “Yes, and they’ve continued to thrive.” The “yes and” method is a way of returning to joy and focusing on what needs to be done. It’s also a way of highlighting ongoing success and next steps. The narrative does not get to end at trauma: the work and the joy both go on.

3) Put another way, joy has to come first. Like Gholdy Muhammad suggests in Unearthing Joy, when engaging in conversations around Blackness we tend to default to injustice, but that centers the injustice rather than the most directly impacted. I would argue the same goes for talking about Indigeneity—when we talk about colonization, we too often center the impact of colonizers and erase the rich and vibrant culture and contributions of Indigenous people before, during, and after colonization. Joy emphasizes the strength and vibrancy of racialized communities and resistance to the oppressive structures that try to break them. Cruz phrases this in a much more accessible way than I just have.

4) Connecting with nature is critical. Drawing partially on the work of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Cruz examines the significance of nature as a model for resilience and versatility. For instance, Cruz draws on the image of moss and describes its many uses, linking it to the idea of community and fulfilling everyone’s needs. They also link nature to food and our practices surrounding its preparation, explaining the power of connection it brings. At the grander scale, they highlight the Afro-Indigenous Soul Fire Farm, who enacts food and land sovereignty as an avenue towards BIPOC independence.

5) Connecting with each other and reframing our experiences through the lens of joy is also critical. There’s a moment in the text where they narrate a gathering of predominantly Black attendees at which one mother is expressing her distress: her son was killed at the hands of police and was sobbing and, despite the fact that Cruz did not speak Portuguese, they could understand the pain. The event then became a collective mournful song that gradually transformed into a celebration song. It’s was a powerful account of reframing trauma through a joyful connection.

        Overall, The Black Joy Project is an account of optimism and hope. It’s informative without being overly theoretical and it’s specific enough in the accounts of initiatives while balancing the need for principles. It’s an accessible book that emulates its own call for connection. In some ways, the book isn’t anything revolutionary—but at the same, it absolutely is.

        Happy reading! Be sure to share your joy with others in the spirit of celebration and connection!