On Karen Hunter’s Show on Sirius XM’s Urban View, she had a caller who identified as a white man who is married to a Black woman and his comment was that he adored and admired Black culture because of its joy.
Karen Hunter then asked him “what’s is white joy,” he replied sadly that white joy is rooted in “whiteness.” And in that context he continued, “white joy is driven by winning and conquest.”
Karen Hunter in sharing this experience with Dr. Greg Carr pointed out how sad it is that many people who identify as white can paint their faces and put on the apparel of their favorite sports team and if that team wins or loses will riot, and turn over cars, burn cars and create havoc in the streets.
Dr. Carr then pointed out that this white joy is an expression of hate and a culture of fear. He further said that this culture of hate and fear was born out of a scarcity mentality that took thousands of years to develop. It was negatively nurtured from living in a barren, cold climate in Europe where the climate and the land did not produce enough for most people to live on.
This kind of existence breeds a conquest, winning at all cost mentality that was resistant to the feelings of pure joy. Dr. Carr further said It is not biological or genetic it was more environmental.
Black joy on the other hand is pure. Black joy is internal and Black joy is about community. Black joy was cultivated in a climate and land on the continent of Africa that produced natural resources in abundance. Black joy therefore is in the very DNA of people of African descent. Black joy is an internal assurance that no matter what happens externally nothing can rob Black people of their humanity and their sense of collective power.
Black joy therefore is a form of resistance to anything, or any power that attempts to negate, subjugate or destroy Black existence.
And it is this Black joy that the barefoot carpenter from Capernaum, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth was reemphasizing to the poor, peasant class of the North East African region of biblical Palestine. In the gospel of John and the fifteenth chapter Jesus said to his disciples “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
This is Black joy on full display being offered by the African Jewish savior and deliverer.
He was offering a renewed Black joy to Black African Jewish people in biblical Palestine as resistance against the oppression of the invaders from Europe and the imperial cult of the Roman Empire.
Black joy is not about conquering or being in competition with anybody. Black joy is about just being. Being your true authentic self and not trying to impress or outshine anybody else but about being. And being with other Black folks brings out the true magic of Black joy. What is Black joy?
Black joy is Frankie Beverly and Maze, playing on the playlist or Jill Scott singing “Family Reunion,” or “Living my Life like it’s Golden.” Black joy is a line dance song being played be that the “Cha Cha slide,” or “Where them fans at? Boots on the ground” song. Black joy is what created the Negro Spirituals as resistance against the evil dehumanizing ways of white folks and charted a map to freedom in the code language of the songs we call Negro Spirituals. Black joy is what birth the blues which had at its core an optimism to offset the feelings of being overwhelmed by unrepentant anti-Black hatred. Black joy is what generated Rev. Charles Albert Tindley, Lucy Campbell, and Thomas Dorsey to birth gospel music to mitigate the misery of living under constant threat by God’s grace. Black joy is the creative power of the improvisation of jazz and is the soul of R&B. Black joy fortified funk and gave expression to urban youths being hunted by law enforcement officers in big cities in the form of Hip Hop.
Black joy is seen at the cookout or an outdoor church fellowship gathering where Black children are seen darting back and forth, laughing and playing because Black joy is a hedge of protection all around them. Black joy is resistance and if Black and brown people ever needed to express and experience Black joy as resistance before they need to raise up that same Black joy that Jesus vouchsafe twenty-one centuries ago right now. Black joy is the roux in the gumbo to Black existence. It is this Black joy that will see Black and brown people through these troubling times and has the power to move other cultures to a more humane experience of life.
Be authentic, be aware and Stay Woke! Uhuru Sassa!!!
The Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ-Gary, 1276 W. 20th Ave. in Gary. “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious, Christ-centered church, committed to the community; we are unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian.” Contact the church by email at [email protected] or by phone at 219-944-0500.
Rev. John E. Jackson
Rev. Dr. John E. Jackson, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ-Gary, 1276 W. 20th Ave. in Gary. “We are not just another church but we are a culturally conscious, Christ-centered church, committed to the community; we are unashamedly Black and unapologetically Christian.”
