What Black Joy Means to Me

by Ernie McCray

Black Lives Matter
recently asked
what Black joy means to me.
Well, Black joy just happens to be
in my DNA.
Passed along
through the ages
from Africa
as a way for us
in the diaspora,
to survive in a world
that would just as soon
do without us,
having learned,
along the way
that it’s the joy in us
as a people,
the desire to carry on,
that has enabled us
to meet each trying dawn,
giving us the strength
to laugh to keep from crying,
to live to keep from dying,
to discover
how to ignite sparks
in the dark
as we’ve reached for the stars
where liberty and justice reside.
Black joy buoys
our psyche
as we keep our eyes
on such a prize
for all,
giving our all
to the cause,
depending on togetherness,
as our attitude towards
addressing our “otherness,”
a people activating
rather than
isolating
or abdicating,
creating
rather
than dissipating,
standing empowered
and outspoken
as we evoke and promote
the restructuring of all that’s broken
in our society.

Black joy
is not only
at the core
of our struggle to live free
but it has also enriched the world
with rich style
and soulfully unique creativity.

And it means the world