Black visual artists and photographers chronicle the untold stories, traditions, and celebrations that compound into the bittersweet experience of Black joy
The joy of love, a healthy childbirth, connecting with dear friends, a beautiful sunset—these are things that all people can feel. But Black joy is mined from a different vein of human experience.
Black artists channel, nurture, and reveal Black joy. They paint, sing, weave, and knit. They make, and they build. They write, and they play. They tell the stories that only we know—and they keep alive our history. Growing up in a predominantly white area, “I struggled to feel seen,” says Maney. “I didn’t know many people who could relate to my experience.” Now she’s finding untold stories through her own lens.
Pigeons soar above New York City in an image by George McKenzie Jr."I find joy in being able to open up the eyes of young children of color to become conservationists," says the wildlife photographer.Black joy is living our traditions “From my family, strangers, aunties, etc.—I'm reminded of it when I see our capacity to give, even when we may lack,” she says. “In times of tragedy, when the victims are those who may have even been violent to us, we have a capacity to seek healing even for them. There is a certain quality of grounded-ness that we have, that expresses itself in forms of love.”In Washington, D.C.
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