THE BLACK JOY PROJECT by Kleaver Cruz is the celebration of Black joy across the diaspora that we all need.
What impressed me the most about this book is the expansiveness of Blackness from across the diaspora and across the world. This book was really a love letter to Blackness in all its iterations– culture, queerness, age, the list goes on. From the stories from around the world of Black people using joy as a form of resistance to the breathtaking art woven in the text, this book has a dynamic sense of layers.
The Black Joy Project inspired me to what is possible when we collaborate in our joy to find liberation for us all. I was inspired by the notion of coming together as a choir, so we each can take a much-needed breath and the idea of gathering wisdom from moss to expand and share moisture for us to survive. I was inspired to think globally about liberation for Black folx and to center queerness because queerness shows us what is possible beyond binary thinking.
As a bonus, I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator really impressed me with her pronunciation of all the different languages.
I highly suggest you get your hands on this book. You can read it once (or return to it time and time again) and then keep it on your coffee table to show off the amazing art.
