Black Joy: A celebration of being Black and British
Evie Robinson reflects on the release of Black Joy, an anthology of writing about what it means to be Black in Britain, and why the book is so groundbreaking.
Image credit: Penguin
Released on 2 September, Black Joy is an incredibly exciting addition to the literary scene. Edited by New York Times editor Charlie Brinkhurt-Cuff and rising star Timi Sotire, and featuring thought-provoking and powerful essays from 28 different contributors, the anthology is a celebratory invocation of what it means to be Black in Britain.
The launch event for Black Joy had an energy and ethos that matched that of the book entirely. Hosted at the small and quirky Rio Cinema in Dalston, London, the launch event for the ground-breaking new anthology celebrating black culture in its many forms was indeed a joyous experience. The room was filled to the brim with anticipation and excitement for the launch of such a celebratory work. In attendance were the editors and many of the contributors, as well as their friends, family, and members of various communities, all with a mutual love of literature and desire to celebrate and learn more about Black culture.
Amongst the panel members of the event was Bukky Bakray. Just nineteen years of age, Bakray is a Black British actress and writer, the youngest ever BAFTA Rising Star Award recipient. When interviewed on her essay for the collection, entitled ‘A Photograph: The beauty in the mundane experience’, Bakray’s way with words was simply inspiring to behold. She spoke of the process of writing her essay, confessing that she found it difficult at times to write about feeling joy in everyday moments, when she often does not feel this way. Bakray confessed that as a black woman, she has been conditioned throughout her life to believe that finding contentment in the everyday was simply unattainable. Writing her essay and digging deep to find joy in the mundane was a pivotal experience for her.
Panelist Isaac James, a linguist, singer, and songwriter, discussed his essay contribution to the collection, entitled ‘Welcome to the Masquerade: How Carnival makes space for everyone’. James’ enlightening reflections on his piece addressed his own relationship to carnival and its history, as well as how this differs to the perspectives of his relatives, elders, and ancestors. James used his own interest in language and linguistics to delve deeper into the history of carnival, and how it originally came into being in Trinidad. This new tradition was born out of a mixing of cultures and languages. James expressed a longing to return to a pre-pandemic time in which carnival could flourish in all parts of the world. For him, carnival epitomises the sense of celebration and community that unites many People of Colour across the city, country and world.
The third and final panelist interviewed on their work was Tobi Kyeremateng, a multi-award winning producer and writer from South London, working across film, audio, and live performance. Her essay, entitled ‘Jaiye Jaiye, Faaji Faaji: The delight of Nigerian hall parties’, is a reflection on her childhood experiences of loud, vibrant, and joyful hall and house parties with her family and elders. Thinking retrospectively, Kyeremateng shared that as a child and young teen, she often found attending these parties to be an inconvenience, knowing she would have her ear chewed by older relatives and be expected to entertain her younger cousins. But as Covid-19 restrictions took hold and these hall parties began to decrease rapidly in number and regularity, Kyeremateng found herself full of nostalgia and longing to experience the vibrance of one again. Both her discussion and reading of her essay oozed a sense of joy in reminiscing on these times.
After an insightful Q&A session with the panelists, the final question took the discussion down more of a reflectionary and personal path, as Brinkhurt-Cuff asked the panel to share any everyday experiences of joy or acts of personal growth from the past year, despite the adversities and challenges we have all experienced as a result of the pandemic. Speaking bravely from the heart, Sotire shared that within the last year, she finally gained the confidence to come out. It was truly inspiring to hear her confess the growth of her confidence and comfort in being and expressing herself: she shared that she has never felt more content in her own being. It was a beautiful moment that stayed with me throughout the rest of the evening as I headed home to my London flat.
Black Joy is a celebration not only of joyous achievements and momentous occasions, but equally of finding happiness and joy in the present moment of the everyday. It celebrates love, community, friendship, culture, identity and all the little things in between. Each of the contributors and editors have their own connection to the concept of ‘Black joy’, influenced by their own upbringing, values, ethics, morals, beliefs, what they stand for and what they enjoy. And it was a truly inspiring experience to hear each of their stories, and to understand the ways in which being a Person of Colour has affected so many aspects of their lives: things which many white people take for granted all too quickly. Efforts by white people to be anti-racist should consist not only of calling out racism and discrimination when it occurs, but dedicating time and energy to educating oneself about black culture, heritage, tradition, legacy, and how this has been affected by colonialism and white-dominated societal structures. In the span of just over an hour that I was in attendance for the event, I learnt so much from the contributors about their identity, and what being a Black creator in the twenty-first century means to them. I felt truly lucky to be in their presence, celebrating such beautiful and breath-taking literary achievement.