It takes something for joy to be brought forth, and I love that youre standing from this viewpoint. This is great! So the cultural haunts and habitat of a people, this is where their joy is made known. At EL Education's 2022 National Conference: A World of Good, Sydney joined school counselor Dominique Sawyer and fellow SAC members Stephanie Kacou and Marissa Barnwell for a panel . My pleasure. I believe in the magic and authority of words.. Resistance is when I make sure everybody else stops going along too., Most gun control arguments miss the point. Author Cheryl Strayed writes in her book Wild about how her mother made a choice everyday to find peace, even when things were difficult. John Keats Your success and happiness lies in you. Miroslav Volf: I don't know whether I'm maybe romanticizing things, but it seemed to me that from what I have observed growing up, but also when I have traveled, that I find more joy in the midst of oppression in almost paradoxical way, than I find in plenty. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email. Absolutely that. I will read it again with an open mind and see if its just my over sensitivity to political messages and political leanings when Im looking for neutrality and joy for all. Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty. faith.yale.edu/media/joy-and-the-act-of-resistance-against-despair. Yet, as the onslaught of trauma and terror continues to reek havoc on our communities both through the systematic racism of state violence and through the deeply internalized racism of gang violence, families and communities like the Smith and Myricks families in Northwest Pasadena point each of us of the power of joy. For activists, who live with chronic stress, the risk of burnout is physiological. Yet even the smallest kernel of it can move nations. This is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. Come and join me and my colleagues on the AFP NYC IDEA Committee where we not only embrace inclusion, diversity, equity and access but we further these ideals within the Fundraising profession through planning, collaboration, implementation, and of courseJoy. If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again., We live in capitalism. There can be complaint, but you're spending a lot of energy just trying to hold it together. Their mission is to protect and support the dignity of marginalized individuals and communities. Stop. Where fascism aims to instill fear, joy is the perfect resistance. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. He is the author of the Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, as well as his most recent book After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging.Jennings' joy is not for the faint of heart, the fair-weather friend, or a life of ease. How to reclaim freedom from all kinds of bullshit. The ones who will choose to journey with you through the fantastic & the foolish. Now, obviously we're talking beyond a kind of cultural tourism or kind of theological tourism. That's what's necessary. But strong and destructive, too. And something else, I think to myself. We can be fluid, flexible when we have to be. We're grateful that you're listening to this podcast. In 1915, Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson, Alexander L. Jackson, William B. Hartgrove, George Cleveland Hall, and James E. Stamps told their story and changed the world by founding what has become Black History Month. The ones who are yours. When I think about the question, Is it ok to feel joyful while the world is (literally) on fire, while babies are in cages and glaciers are crumbling and billionaires stand by self-righteously counting their billions, I come back to Jack Gilbert. I think for me this topic brings a mingling of sadness and hope, so perhaps that carried through into the post. Wolves howl together after a hunt. "I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. Joy: Directed by David O. Russell. Round your celebration out by listening to your favorite R&B, Rock, or Country song knowing that those genres were derived from the melodious sounds of Jazz. There is that space. "Peace without justice is tyranny." - William Allen White. How would you put it? As I began to slip in the depths of my own sorrow and yield to the temptation to surrender my heart to the dreadfully stark nihilism in this ritual around black bodies, I looked up and saw Dariuss mother, Rishawna Myricks. Rosa Parks stood up for her rightsshe actually didnt let the bus driver tell her what to do or abide by those rules and regulations about where she could sitshe fought for justice, and thats why African Americans are now able to sit in the front of the bus at this moment. But there's also another side, not only to just African diaspora forms of joy, but the joy in many communities. abulabbas Dec 27, 2021. There is a joy that creates. I am not suggesting here that joy will always be present in times of mourning. Rewind. Maybe they didn't intend it, but it did. UK & US. Joy is an act of resistance. Its almost a platitude in the Trump era, visible across Instagram on embroidered banners and fine calligraphy, on t-shirts and tote bags. By Crystal Fields-Sam Chair IDEA Committee . When I think about strong, courageous women passionately working to advance social justice, which inherently means theyre fighting oppression every day, I think of my good friend Catalina Correa Salazar. What are spaces in which you yourself find joy? Joy is a sign of vibrant life, of thriving. Some of the containers holding the archives were dug up from . Recognize that pleasure is a measure of freedom, writes Adrienne Maree Brown, author of a book called Pleasure Activism, which takes as its premise that the states of being that activists are striving for, justice and liberation and wellbeing, are highly joyful states, and therefore pleasure can be a powerful tool for helping us achieve them. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, with funding from several philanthropic foundations, told the story of African American history and the largely overlooked achievements of Black Americans which were not available to the public. But another way that joy can support activism is that it disarms. Last week I attended a dinner party inspired by Marsha P. (P for pay-it-no-mind) Johnson, who ignited the Stonewall Rebellion. Segregated joy is most often sequestered joy, bounded joy territorially, in particular places. Evan Rosa: For the Life of the World is a production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. Extrapolate how the actions I have outlined above may impact the way you write an appeal letter or organize a campaign. From the likes of Ari Up and Poly Styrene, who didnt sing about obtaining male affection or rely on stereotypical concepts of female self-worth, to outrageously hyper-sexualized women like Wendy O. Williams and Marian Anderson, who recaptured ownership of their bodies, these women were bold, outspoken, and as the kids say nowadays, woke. Rewind. Willie Jennings joins Miroslav Volf to discuss the definition of joy as an act of resistance against despair, the counterintuitive nature of cultivating joy in the midst of suffering, the commercialization of joy in Western culture, joy segregated by racism and slavery, how Jesus expands and corrects our understanding of joy. Research shows that small bursts of positive emotion can help reset the bodys physical responses to stress, so that people can continue to fight from a place of wellbeing and strength. Coming back to Audre Lorde: The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much of what is not shared between them, and lessens the threat of their difference. Joy, and celebrations in particular, focus our attention on our commonalities, not our differences. Im sorry that this post left you sad! P.S. Unsubscribe at any time. $j("#connectPrompt").show(); We danced like Darius was right there with us. Acceptance and support is what encourages Autistic kids like Knox to advocate for themselves. (More on this form of joyful activism here.). Audre Lorde wrote eloquently about how caring for oneself is an act of resistance. Christopher McCandless It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Miroslav Volf: What is joy for you as a theologian, as a church men, as a black man? According to the survey, which was released in 2019, only five percent of authors are Black; four percent are literary agents; one percent comprise editorial; and less than 5 percent . This month, people from across GLIDEs community are responding to the following question:When you think of the role of women in the advancement of social justice and resistance to oppression, who comes to mind as an inspiration?. Hallie Brignall, Annual Fund Manager To me she was the embodiment of my existence as resistance. And that's what's key, the kind of mapping of joy that would be necessary to actually start to think about the reconstituting of a different reality of joy. When asked about her experience of being an Asian American woman . But contemporary hits are just as suspect; the Soviet Union, for example, censored songs by artists as varied as AC/DC, Tina Turner, and Julio Iglesias. "For Black folks, joy and resistance aren't really that separate," Waheed tells me over Zoom. As you can probably tell, now I don't spend much time in barbershops anymore, but back in the day when I used to spend time in barbershopsbarbershops and beauty shops are really interesting, especially in black communities, because they can be in ways that are, as I like to say, profound realities of indirection and they can be spaces of incredible joy. In the Gospel of John, Jesus explains that the very point and the purpose of his teachings on love and keeping his commands are "so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.". We're grateful that you're listening. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. Kathleen Hanna, like Marian, suffered from sexual abuse at a young age and used the stage to not only wrestle with her pain, but also to establish the riotgrrl movement. Black joy, as an act of resistance against white supremacy, takes center stage on Juneteenth. In Trinidad, the British banned drumming. Willie Jennings: I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces, all the forces of despair. Stop. (44.15) All of the Handmaids at this posting (Glen's) are called Ofglen (of Glen). "But eventually you will find you return to your original behavior and attitudes. Black joy is also important for representation. Dancing was similarly reviled, and all types of celebration found themselves in the crosshairs of European colonists setting out to spread Christianity and civilization around the world. These women have shown me what strength, determination, compassion and accountability look like and taught me to not take no s**t from anybody (lol)! But whats most remarkable is what happens after these festivities. He had a way of speaking that made you feel like magic. We need it as much as we need anger because it is joy that will help keep us in. It was how you were talked to how people thought of you what you could do/couldnt do even what you were perceived as being capable of accomplishing. History month and why rewriting history to exclude the African American's place in it is so perfidious, its founder said it best, "If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the . [CDATA[ // If Your Glutes Are Sore Are They Growing, Articles W