Television
Black joy is, to me, ubiquitous and everyday, not rarefied or anomalous as the term itself may sometimes imply. It simply is, in spite of a lot and despite a media landscape that often suggests otherwise. This is why I will forever sing the praises of Michaela Coel’s 2015 series Chewing Gum, a show synonymous with Black joy not just because of its hilarity, but its ability to depict joy in the everyday, the mundane and even the difficult. Set on a council estate, it remains unlike many depictions of Black working-class life in Britain that predate it, resembling Black British coming-of-age as myself and many others know it to be: chock-a-block with laughs, nights to remember and great friends. YA
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Art
A Black British renaissance compels us to not only look at what is new, but renew our interest in the old. Over the summer, the photographer Ajamu X put on the exhibition Archival Sensoria at the Cubitt gallery. As an artist he treasures intergenerational dialogue, creating a living archive where young Black queer people can flick through and encounter ourselves through time. New portraits were hung so as to gaze down on installations of videotapes, old rave flyers and sex toys, while contact sheets traced Black gay life in the 80s and 90s. On one of those contact sheets lay this image of two Black gay men at Pride in 1992. This image captures the intimacy and joy in Black queer communities, the love between these two friends, and the love Ajamu has for them. It reminds me that I create joyful Black art myself, waving my phone and snapping photos in the gay club every Saturday night. JO
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Comedy
Sometimes Black joy is just about letting go and having a bit of a laugh – so where better to find it than a comedy club? FOC It Up (FOC is short for Femmes of Colour) is a side-splitting night that exclusively shines a light on the comedic work of women and non-binary people of colour. It’s a mainstay for Black British comedians including Sophie Duker, Athena Kugblenu and Thanyia Moore. Founded in 2018 by the turquoise-haired comic Kemah Bob, FOC It Up is shaking up the British comedy scene from London to the Edinburgh fringe. MFC
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Book
The best stories recognise that, in every life, joy and pain sit side by side, which is why I’m wary of literary attempts to homogenise the lives of Black people in either direction. However, when all you ever hear about is pain, artistic expressions of joy become essential. Literature restores the balance that history disrupts. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is the best book in recent years to have embodied the idea that there are as many ways to be joyful as there are to be Black. Polyphonic and nuanced, it celebrates the lives of Black British women rather than commiserating with them, which is a crucial – and rare – distinction. SC
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Music
There is no rhythm without the corresponding blues, but Enny’s breakout single Peng Black Girls (featuring Amia Brave) shows that true joy can be found in feeling seen. With humour and warmth, the south-east London rapper’s tribute to her homegrown inspirations (“Want a fat booty like Kardashians? (No) / Want a fat booty like my aunty got, yo”) thrives on a summer beat, reaching out to her area code with a rallying message as simple as it is stirring: “We gon’ be all right, OK, all right, OK.” With Black visibility still regularly mediated through colourist notions of beauty, Peng Black Girls is a welcome reminder to celebrate each and every shade. JW
