Joy is an act of resistance. I dont know what she meant when she said that, but I know for me it means that I still get to have my joy, my laughter, my sassiness, my thinking, my love of people. Cal State Fullerton African American studies professor Mei-Ling Malone explains: "Black joy is an act of resistance. 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.". Miroslav Volf: So it's almost like a Pentecost joy, each speaking in their own tongue, but speaking that language of joy together. Joy Suffering God. We've been taught that silence would . And then the second thing you have to have is a willingness to want to hold on to Life, even when there is very little that makes sense in life. They could see that people were attracted to the notion that joy is resistance, and the joy itself is powerful. In 2017, they formed the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of women and non-binary singers whose central tenet is that joy is an act of resistance. if (this.auth.status === "not_authorized") { - Sam Storms. by FANTANAMOBAY. The less you think about your oppression, the more your tolerance for it grows. Men told you what to listen to, what to like. They are killed. Joy is an Act of Resistance Chapter Leadership Brief 2.10.2023. And we know thatand my own experience in churches is that that's often what happens, a kind of infection of joy. This episode featured theologians, Willie Jennings and Miroslav Volf. To me she was the embodiment of my existence as resistance. So it is pushing back. This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. We produce new episode every Saturday, and you can subscribe through any podcast app. You can hear him in podcast episodes 7 and 13 of For the Life of the World. It wouldn't be easy to find her, now. How in the world is anyone to eek out an ounce of hope to press on? Let us know what you're interested in. And lastly, joy provides a glimpse of a better future that keeps us motivated to work toward it. "Our joy in itself is an act of . "In contexts where your energies have to be focused on survival, it doesnt leave a lot of energy for overt forms of complaintyoure spending a lot of energy just trying to hold it together. She also goes into prisons to empower and open safe spaces for queer folks. joy is an act of resistance $75.00 It is imperative to connect with joy and evolve our own personal practice of compassion. Women like Emma Watson, Malala and Beyonc (who thankfully introduced so many people to the amazing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) are empowering young women through their speeches, actions and music and providing a gateway to larger feminist and social justice movements. They smooth tensions and break down barriers. I want our guests to know that I love them and appreciate them. I think there are artists, musicians, painters, and others who have shown that there's possibilities of living in being sustained by a form of joy that is not homogeneous, that is fully captured inside, if you willan expanding world of different people being brought together inside the sheer love of the music, for example. But when you see mounds of hot pink trash bags piled on a curb, it offers a striking, yet not aggressive, reminder to be less wasteful. For more information, visit faith.yale.edu. How on earth is anyone to find solace in the midst of such overwhelming grief? 13. We are a people that has born witness to and embodied the miraculous ability to dance on the head of the enemy of our souls and press on to create a future that we do not yet see, and to do it with defiant joy. I would say something similar, but I would probably read it in this way. Thanks so much for sharing. Their music and message empowered my girlfriends and me to feel that we were enough, without needing boyfriends or to look and act a certain way. It goes against everything that racism was designed to do. Joy as an Act of Resistance is the second studio album by British rock band Idles, released on 31 August 2018 by Partisan Records. 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. No. That feeling is the perfect combination of knowledge, experience, skill, luck, and magic called Fundraising. Last week I attended a dinner party inspired by Marsha P. (P for pay-it-no-mind) Johnson, who ignited the Stonewall Rebellion. Open Preview. After a while, people just think oppression is the normal state of things. The power of celebrations goes beyond the energy they create. Since then, my ideas on empowerment and the Womens Rights Movement have definitely changed, but I still believe it is incredibly important for young girls to have strong female role models early in life. 3. The ones who will choose to journey with you through the fantastic & the foolish. Hallelujah. And we did. There's a very powerful analogy to, if you will, the work of the spirit at that moment, that a space is created not by you, but in a strange sort of way without you knowing it, it's for you. In World War I, soldiers on both sides were known to cultivate gardens in the trenches. 4. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. As I stood amid a sea of mostly young black faces at New Revelation Baptist, I found myself seeking my own new revelation by asking hard questions about what has become a dangerously mundane ritual around young black bodies. Thanks for listening. Three weeks ago today, on Friday June 9, hundreds of family members, friends, and well wishers packed into the New Revelation Baptist Church to pay their last respects to Darius Smith, a 15-year-old child who was killed by an off-duty customs agent in Arcadia, California. a : the inherent ability of an organism to resist harmful influences (such as disease, toxic agents, or infection) b : the capacity of a species or strain of microorganism to survive exposure to a toxic agent (such as a drug) formerly effective against it 3 : an opposing or retarding force 4 a If you're new here, please hop onto my email list so I can send you weekly emails full of GIFs (and also podcasts, articles, and generally amusing cheerleading for . Every single person let the healing waves of music wash over them with their soulful and buoyant caress, and just danced their hearts out right where they stood. Willie Jennings: I like singing a song in a strange land. Welcome back. What's killing your joy? Miroslav Volf: What is joy for you as a theologian, as a church men, as a black man? And the clear example I'm drawing on is African diaspora communities in which there's a reality of joy built inside the forced segregation. (More on this form of joyful activism here.). Is joy actually a form of resistance to oppression, or is this phrase just a comforting balm to counter the guilt we feel when we find ourselves feeling good in a world thats burning? There's also the Black Joy movement, sprouted alongside Black Lives Matter, which celebrates the happiness,. Miroslav Volf: So if you have a kind of cultural logic that sets patterns for expressions of joy, but it ends up being segregated joy, how do you break open out of the enclosure? I think that's the first thing you have to have. So it's not the badness of that family's vision of joy against the goodness of something else, but it is the opening up of that family's vision of joy. 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. I'm Evan Rosa, and I edited and produced the show. "Black women have been conditioned to live for other people. This week, we're featuring a conversation between Miroslav and Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. But to become free, you have to be acutely aware of being a slave., You see, the point is that the strongest man in the world is he who stands most alone., Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. To me she was the embodiment of my existence as resistance. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Joy: Directed by David O. Russell. But the most celebratory of all animals are our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. Its one thing to be able to envision a better future, but its another to have a momentary flash of it course through our bodies. In Trinidad, the British banned drumming. 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. This year the theme is resistance. Quote Joy is an act of resistance. What dictators know is that joy has a propulsive force, and that anything that gathers and channels that energy threatens to upend the rigid control of a population. By Crystal Fields-Sam Chair IDEA Committee . Spiritual resistance refers to attempts by individuals to maintain their humanity, personal integrity, dignity, and sense of civilization in the face of Nazi attempts to dehumanize and degrade them. Their mission is to protect and support the dignity of marginalized individuals and communities. Hallie Brignall, Annual Fund Manager To laugh in the face of fear is possibly the bravest act, which is why Saffiyah Khan became an instant hero in the United Kingdom when she smiled at fascist thugs from the far-right, racist movement English Defence League who began harassing Muslim women in her hometown. For women, this has meant a suppression of the erotic as a considered source of power and information within our lives. The denigration of feminine forms of joy, such as romance novels and films, fashion and home decor, is another manifestation of this insidious form of repression. Ive been thinking about these questions for a long time, and I believe there are at least six ways that joy can sustain activism. But whats most remarkable is what happens after these festivities. Christopher McCandless It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. We need it as much as we need anger because it is joy that will help keep us in. Sydney, a founding member of EL Education's Student Advisory Council, makes the impossible seem possible daily by using Black joy as an act of Black Resistance. These experiences of synchrony create a physiological experience of community, one that can be profoundly unconscious. a piece on the power of the garden at Rikers Island. I believe in the magic and authority of words.. One of the goals of racism is to break your spirit by any means necessary. Even in the rebellious punk rock subculture, misogyny was rampant. People who refuse to stop believing. Reply Helpful. Miroslav Volf: I'm here with Willie Jennings, a very good friend of mine. Joy is also a manifestation of abundance. She is a badass! Things arent perfect, but these bold women are responsible for a lot of change in thought around girls and women what they are capable of, their value, their position, etc. We cannot simply say we ought to have a joy that we have it together, but no one wants to think about where are our bodies in space, and how was spaces configured. There is something absolutely beautiful about the joy created by communities, especially oppressed communities. Professor Jennings, it's great to have you with us. We don't think spatially as we should. You'll also receive periodic updates on new things from The Aesthetics of Joy. Whatever that is, go find your joy. One to watch out for. Released on Partisan Records 31/08/18 1 X LP, includes digital download card Joy As An Act Of Resistance is a parade. 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