It is one thing to be allies to the Black community, through advocacy, shows, and teaching children about racism or buying from Black-owned businesses, but it is another to celebrate them, too. Both are required to defeat white supremacy and that is why we wanted to highlight moments of #BlackJoy, meaning, showing the moments of the Black community loving life and enjoying it. Because as advocates say, Black joy is also an act of resistance.
Whether it's a cute dad and his baby, a graduation, or a fun dance (lots of fun dances) there are lots of moments of Black happiness to choose from. Some of them, like the viral videos and the weddings and dances, are overt examples, but sometimes the joy is subtle. It's loving one's Blackness or smiling at the small successes. Whatever form of Black joy it is, it deserves to be celebrated. After looking across Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, we found a lot of joy to go around. Take a look below.
'Make it Like a Ball'
This insanely adorable video made the rounds around Father's Day and it is easy to see why. A dad and his daughter sit together while he attempted to tie her head wrap. She tells him "in a ball" numerous times, and he eventually gets it right to her extreme joy.
A Protest Wedding
A wedding ceremony held in Philadelphia smack dab in the middle of the anti-racism protests caught the eye of the internet quickly. It was a stunning display of solidarity and Black love with the backdrop of racial equity behind them.
'Good Energy'
Missy Elliot tweeted out this now-viral video of a black man who is a video creator and who we assume to be his daughter dancing and lip-syncing in his car. The video has over 1 million views and over 10,000 retweets.
A Game of Peek-a-Boo
Now this looks like such a fun game of peek-a-boo. Dad hides from his toddler behind a car and pops out to surprise her from the sides. She finds this absolutely hilarious and it's all caught on the doorbell camera.
Congressional Candidate Jamaal Bowman Vibing
Congressional candidate Jamaal Bowman is running for office in New York. It's a tiring job but that hasn't stopped him from "vibing" aka dancing in his car. His followers loved it and the tweeted video has gotten over 600K views.
A Happy Graduation Day
This graduation photo is from 2014, so pre-pandemic, but its owner reshared it recently to share her Black joy and there is a ton of it in this photo. As there should be. She is another degree hotter.
A Happy 'Pandemic' Graduation
The pandemic has changed a lot of things that used to be a given, and a traditional graduation ceremony is one of them. That didn't stop this new grad and his family from having one in their front yard. Lots of joy there.
A TikTok Superman
Tik Tok videos are all the rage these days and this 4-year-old Superman found stardom on it. He participated in the "wipe" channel which showed him in an adorable Superman outfit when he wiped the mirror.
The Dancing TikTok Doctor
Another Black viral star is this dancing doctor called "Dr. J of the DC." To spread joy during the worldwide health crisis, he got as many of his colleagues as he could to do TikTok dances with him and it definitely brought a lot of joy.
A Daddy in Dance Class
Dads in dance class with their kiddos can put a smile on anyone's face and that's exactly what this video did. It's a room full of little ballerinas with their amazing Black dads. We feel like they had lots off #BlackJoy but if not, we sure had a lot of fun watching it.
Black Love Is Black Joy
Marriage is beautiful and there's a reason why people cry at weddings. This wedding dance radiates Black love and it's a joyous sight to see. Thankfully, a Twitter user shared the video of his brother and new sister-in-law for us to witness, too.
Passion Is Joy
Discovering one's passion is a reason to celebrate. And we are celebrating with this 3-year-old who seems to be so into his camera. It may be upside down, but the smile says it all and we love to see it.
Dancing Is Life
Dancing is an amazing way to express joy and connect with others and that's exactly the case for this video created by Chance the Rapper and again on Juneteenth by a Twitter user. It has over 3 million views and counting.
Protest Dances Count
Don't believe that dancing can spark joy just about anywhere? Check out a group of protesters having a moment of #BlackJoy together by way of a line dance as they stand together against racism. It happened in Leimert Park in LA.
Joy in Ghana
Black joy isn't just found in the US. There's Black joy around the world and these kids from Ghana, captured by photographer Michael Aboya embody that. Here, they play the violin, but the artist has a lot of photos of Black joy to see on his Instagram.
A Black Lives Matter Spoken Word Tribute
Spoken word or slam poetry is an amazing form of art and a great platform to not only express oneself but to get important messages across. That is what is happening in this Twitter video by way of a Black Lives Matter song.
Black Parents' Joy
Black parents deserve and do feel joy all the time. This photo of two parents with their child exemplifies that job and it's one of the sweetest family photos we've seen.
That Graduation Fierceness
Graduation is a big deal and sometimes the simpler statement about it, the better. This stunning graduation photo puts this woman's Blackness and accomplishments on full view together. She received over 25,000 likes on it on Instagram.
What It Feels Like to Earn a Master's at 17
One degree is amazing, but two? The best. That's what 17-year-old Carson Huey accomplished by earning his master's degree in 2020. When he was 14, he earned his bachelor's degree — "the youngest to receive both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Texas Christian University." The smile is subtle but the joy is big.
Finding Joy in the Fight
Sometimes Black joy can happen on a large scale, through love, while dancing or accomplishing something big. Other times, it's just finding the joy in peace, survival and fighting for what's right. That can be found in this photo.
