Black Joy is…

Black Joy possesses a range that is boundless and is not easily defined.

The most accurate definition is:

Black Joy is anything that inspires, supports, and uplifts Black culture.

This page is dedicated to highlighting, celebrating, and uplifting BLACK EXCELLENCE. The idea of Blackness is oftentimes limited to a particular lens or perspective. Black Joy is dedicated to expanding, stretching, and contributing to the overall definition of Blackness and Black Excellence.

The goal of Black Joy…

Engagement, Empowerment, Excellence, Enjoyment, Eudaemonia (look it up)

Each quarter will have a focus with particular topics tied to that focus:

Quarter Plan

Black Success - Fall Quarter

  • Black Entrepreneurship
  • Black Scholars
  • Black Creatives
  • Black Wealth

Black Love - Winter Quarter

  • Black Romance
  • Black Family
  • Black Friendships
  • Black Self- Love

Cont.d

Black Accomplishment - Spring Quarter

  • Black Achievements
  • Black Protest
  • Black History
  • Black Firsts

***Will highlight these topics every Tuesday on BBRC website and social media platforms***

Have a great idea for something that should be included on this page. Please submit here!

SUBMIT HERE

Our picks of the week

Spotify photo of music playing

Music

Vibe out to our picks of the week/month by scanning the Spotify QR code or searching for “BlackBruinJoy” on Spotify or Apple Music! Open Spotify, click the search icon at the bottom, and tap the camera icon to the side of the search bar to scan QR code.

Meme Image: #GrowingUpBlack Me: Im hungry Moms: Go Make a sandwich Me: I dont want a sandwich Moms: Then you aint hungry

Memes of the Week

Need a laugh? Why of course you do because those never get old! Click here for some hilarious memes!

Books by Black Authors

Be educated, empowered, and inspired by these authors.

Americanah book Americanah Paperback – March 4, 2014

From the award-winning, bestselling author of We Should All Be Feminists and Half of a Yellow Sun—the story of two Nigerians making their way in the U.S. and the UK, raising universal questions of race, belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for identity and a home.

Find Book Here

The Black Flamingo Hardcover – May 26, 2020 The Black Flamingo Hardcover – May 26, 2020

A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.

Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.

As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.

Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.

Find Book Here

Black Labor, White Wealth : The Search for Power and Economic Justice Black Labor, White Wealth : The Search for Power and Economic Justice

Dr. Anderson's first book is a classic. It tracks slavery and Jim Crow public policies that used black labor to construct a superpower nation. It details how black people were socially engineered into the lowest level of a real life Monopoly game, which they are neither playing or winning. Black Labor is a comprehensive analysis of the issues of race. Dr. Anderson uses the anaylsis in this book to offer solutions to America's race problem.

Find Book Here

Color Coded Color Coded

This book is the collaborative effort of 3 black women who are passionate about the importance of mental health and self-care within the Black community. Too often we as Black Americans find ourselves confronted with the harsh realities of the stigmas associated with therapy and mental health awareness. So as a psychologist, an advocate, and an imaginative artist, we wanted to provide an alternative avenue for self-expression and creative therapy utilizing doodling and illustrations as a prompt towards a mental and personal breakthrough. It’s our hope that the Color-Coded Therapeutic Sketch Journal evokes inspiration and introspection as you progress along life’s journey.

Find Book Here

 The Color of Monday Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap The Color of Monday Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap

When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than 1 percent of the total wealth in America. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money seeks to explain the stubborn persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks.

With the civil rights movement in full swing, President Nixon promoted “black capitalism,” a plan to support black banks and minority-owned businesses. But the catch-22 of black banking is that the very institutions needed to help communities escape the deep poverty caused by discrimination and segregation inevitably became victims of that same poverty. In this timely and eye-opening account, Baradaran challenges the long-standing belief that black communities could ever really hope to accumulate wealth in a segregated economy.

Find Book Here

Go Tell It on the Mountain (Vintage International) Go Tell It on the Mountain (Vintage International)

In one of the greatest American classics, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves.

Find Book Here

How to Be an Antiracist How to Be an Antiracist

Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.

Find Book Here

The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors

A collection of 25 essays examining the neuroses of white supremacy.

Find Book Here