The Black Joy Project: A Literary and Visual Love Letter to How We Thrive

Activist Cruz aims in their uplifting if uneven debut to “amplify joy and affirm it as a form of resistance” in the Black community. Inspired by the author’s eponymous organization, the collection presents eye-catching photography, paintings, and mixed media pieces from artists around the world alongside Cruz’s meditations on Black joy as a “restorative, regenerative, and generous force” that “coexists with our baggage and our hurt” even as it carves out space for imagining a better world. There’s no shortage of insight in Cruz’s passionate discussions of how TikTok can unite communities and “foster Black joy across age and class lines” and Afro-Brazilian grassroots movements that protest police violence in favelas. Unfortunately, the prose suffers from awkward phrasing and strained metaphors, as when Cruz compares the adaptability of Black culinary traditions to moss (“Our continued practices of cooking are like those colonies of stalks that make up the thousand of varieties of moss that exist on this planet.... And we know that in the moment that we may not have what we need to create the dishes we desire, we will innovate, holding out like the stalks in freezing conditions until we can get access to those missing ingredients”), and the stunning images don’t always connect to the surrounding text. Still, this is a captivating celebration of Black resilience and resistance. Photos. Agent: Marya Spence, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Dec.)