About

black joy archive  began in May of 2020 in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor & Ahmaud Arbery. Amidst a worldwide pandemic, Black individuals were forced to cope, reckon and process trauma inflicted time-and-time again by the racial epidemic this country has battled and protected for centuries.

The archive was created to be a safe space for black folks — with the intention that this space can serve individuals as an ongoing practice in self-preservation and self-esteem.

Since this project’s initial release there has been a cultural shift — with questionable moves of allyship being presented by corporate entities, capitalistic industries utilizing taglines such as “Black Joy” for commercial profit and the overall anti-racial fervor that ignited non-BIPOC individuals that summer of 2020 now debatably apathetic.

volume ii of this project asks you to consider this — how can we continue to persevere? To push against the noise, the trends and expectations in order to uplift our own narratives? More importantly —