We can be fluid, flexible when we have to be. Thanks for listening. Whether its the transcendent joy of sacred ritual or the simple joy of cultivating a garden, the pursuit of joy amid great struggle is a way to tend our humanity when it is most threatened. If you're in a position to support our show financially, please consider partnering with us. And we'll be back with more next week. Willie Jennings: Well, practically you have to have people who you've heard sing those songs in strange lands. Released 31 August 2018 on Partisan. Maya Angelou is a very good inspiration, especially for African American women, saying that she could rise above nations. Dr. Engram's "Black Joy as an Act of Resistance" takes the listener on a journey through the life of Black millennials. When I think about the role of women in social justice, I immediately think of Black women. 330 Ellis St., San Francisco, CA 94102 | info@glide.org. Willie Jennings: Despair and all of the ways that despair wants to drive us toward death, and wants to make death the final word. Last but not least, I offer you the opportunity to be inspired! 2018. This is not what they imagined. 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. Reply Helpful. That feeling is the perfect combination of knowledge, experience, skill, luck, and magic called Fundraising. The theologian Willie James Jennings said it better than we can: "I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces all the forces of despair." He said that in 2014, long . Play. However, I also found that some thoughts expressed seemed unnecessary and negatively pointed, producing uneasiness rather than joy. Resistance is the secret of joy wrote Alice Walker in her 1992 novel, Possessing the Secret of Joy Walker. The throngs of mourners and supporters lined the isles of the church, crowded the lobby and balcony areas, and spilled out of the church onto the outside lawn. But if you can give, if you're truly passionate about supporting podcasting that's all about pursuing really living lives that are worthy of our humanity, then consider a gift to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. We've been taught that silence would . Stop. We're talking about people entering a space and in some very powerful way that we can't really chart out specifically. There is a joy that creates. Featured peformers: Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), Adam Devonshire (bass), Jon Beavis (drums), Space (producer), Adam Greenspan (mixing), Nick Launay (mixing). The reverse is also true that the secret of joy is resistance. But the most celebratory of all animals are our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. How does one forge the weapon of joy in the midst of suffering, oppression? Between the two stands Resistance.. My mother, and three sisters: Jean Cooper, Zwazzi Sowo and Lillian Mark! And I think at another level, the work of joy becomes serious work, which I think in our contextand by our context, I mean in the Westthe work of joy in many ways is not fully the people's work. How does one cultivate joy? The world has enough anger and fear to last for seventy lifetimes. I do say you can go back upstairs and get another ticket, but I also give them all the food thats left at the end! With Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramrez. 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. Joy: Directed by David O. Russell. This year the theme is resistance. So, simply put, joy can be considered resistance because its a form of energy for change, as Lorde puts it. This joy cannot and will not be robbed from Autistic kids of color. Folk or traditional music is typically condemned, such as in Nazi Germany, which targeted Jewish music. How does one cultivate joy? We're grateful that you're listening to this podcast. It certainly wasnt my intent to include negatively pointed thoughts, so its good for me to know that this is how it felt to you. 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. - C.S. Lorde uses the word erotic, meaning a form of deep, sensual (not necessarily sexual) pleasure, but I think you could easily use the word joy if it makes more sense to you: Recognizing the power of the erotic within our lives can give us the energy to pursue genuine change within our world, rather than merely settling for a shift of characters in the same weary drama., Ive talked a lot about the joy of communal celebration, but we can also find it in nature. Bono asked, anticipating one reaction. I have no earthly idea how it happened. Part of HuffPost Black Voices. Thats right, dancing. People who love in a world without walls, people who love into hate, into refusal, against hope, and without fear. Happy to read and share the best inspirational Joy As An Act Of Resistance quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise Famous Quotes. In World War I, soldiers on both sides were known to cultivate gardens in the trenches. Your joy is an act of resistance. Rewind. It is mind-boggling to them that Black people can still find peace. Miroslav Volf: I don't know whether I'm maybe romanticizing things, but it seemed to me that from what I have observed growing up, but also when I have traveled, that I find more joy in the midst of oppression in almost paradoxical way, than I find in plenty. ALLI is a paid 10-week teen leadership intensive where 25 youth are trained in artistry, social justice, and organizing. Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya's portraits in Times Square celebrating the expansive diversity and individuality of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in New York City as part of the public art series We Are More. $grfb.init.done(function() { ", The commercialization of joy in the empire of advertisingcontrasting that with the peoples serious work of joy, The work and skill of making something beautiful out of what has been thrown away, Segregated joyjoy in African diaspora communities, Joy is always embedded in community logics, Geographies of joy: Christians tend not to think spatially, but we should, Hoping for joyous infection, where the space has claimed you as its own, Where can joy be found? Im sorry that this post left you sad! "Resistance to the organized mass can be effected only by the man who is as well organized in his individuality as the mass itself." - Carl Jung. 8. Many of us have had the experience of being annoyed at a coworker, but then going to the company picnic, having a beer and a laugh together, and forgetting our annoyance. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words., Where there is power, there is resistance., It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end., People get used to anything. He had a way of speaking that made you feel like magic. It's clear that joy is the crown of the good life, as Miroslav Volf has said. I'm Evan Rosa with the Yale Center for Faith & Culture. I met Jack Gilbert a couple of times. Miroslav Volf: Thank you very much, Professor Jennings. It's the idea that in order to be a good woman, you have to be self-sacrificing. 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. In communist Albania, the regime of Enver Hoxha famously banned the saxophone. And we did. Willie Jennings joins Miroslav Volf to discuss the definition of joy as an act of resistance against despair, the counterintuitive nature of cultivating joy in the midst of suffering, the commercialization of joy in Western culture, joy segregated by racism and slavery, how Jesus expands and corrects our understanding of joy. Miroslav Volf: How does one find the kind of strengths? Football coaches, mentors, family members and friends told story after story of how this young man had made a positive impact on their lives and how devastated they were to lose him. To choose joy is to say that regardless of years of systemic oppression, unfair disadvantages, and everything life may try to throw your way, in the words of the late Maya Angelou - "Still I Rise.". referencing Joy As An Act Of Resistance (LP, Album, Deluxe Edition, 180 Gram, Gatefold) PTKF2158-3. Joy is also a manifestation of abundance. For more information, visit us online at faith.yale.edu. 13. The church, the hospital room, the barber shop and beauty shopsthings are going to be better". People who refuse to come to earth. And those who are doing the speaking, never imagining that this in fact would be the sign. One of the ways it does this is by affirming our humanity. Produced by Space and mixed by Adam Greenspan & Nick Launay (Nick Cave, Kate Bush, Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Joy as an Act of Resistance. "Our joy in itself is an act of . In context where your energies have to be focused on survival, it doesn't leave a lot of energy for overt forms of complaint. UK & US. The rainbow pride flag is one example of a joyful symbol that both unifies activists while also disarming detractors. Willie Jennings: Public rituals bound to real space. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The Aesthetics of Joy is a resource for finding more joy in life and work backed by scientific research. But here I'm wondering: if there is not a Christological intervention that the life of Jesus draws us toward, that brings an invitationthat the very form of joy and pleasure and contentment and comfort that you imagine in the enclosed space can actually be something far richer, far more beautiful, far more pleasurable in this new space, in which your joy is constituted with some of the very people who you imagine are a part of your despair, not a part of your joyor those who you imagine their joy that is absolutely in what they find enjoyable is absolutely foreign to what I would. And how do we nurture hope? It's our joy to bring these shows to you. According to the survey, which was released in 2019, only five percent of authors are Black; four percent are literary agents; one percent comprise editorial; and less than 5 percent . Sometimes people in the coffee shop offer to help me out, even though I tell them they dont have to, but when they do help I say to them, Hey, on fried chicken day, I got you.. } else { I could not help but hear Nehemiah encourage his people to rebuild by saying that the joy of the Lord is your strength when they were being oppressed by a brutal and ruthless power. Menu. And there are many of us out there, more than you think. We see kids and adults of color being attacked everyday for just living their lives. The first chimp to spot the caretaker begins hooting loudly. Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty. They could see that people were attracted to the notion that joy is resistance, and the joy itself is powerful. You were born to heal, to grow, to be of service to yourself and community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream, and to connect.". Joy is the currency that is flowing between hands in such situation. Is this a way of living a right life in the false one, to use Adorno's phrase? Thank you, Martha. Every morning, you wake up, and your mind tells you it's too early, and your body tells you you're a little too sore, but you've got to look deep within yourself and know what you want and what you're striving for." And we know thatand my own experience in churches is that that's often what happens, a kind of infection of joy. They didn't have dreams of speaking other's language. 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. "Black women have been conditioned to live for other people. Willie Jennings joins Miroslav Volf to discuss the definition of joy as an act of resistance against despair, the counterintuitive nature of cultivating joy in the midst of suffering, the commercialization of joy in Western culture, joy segregated by racism and slavery, how Jesus expands and corrects our understanding of joy. By Crystal Fields-Sam Ms. Reid had little patience for trading insults with Pastor Mark Burns, a frequent defender of President Trump, when he was a guest on her show last month. "Secondary choices are always subordinate to a primary choice. And to push it even further, some of them just didnt care about educating men or changing their minds. Joy has an edge, it doesnt exist in vacuum. I grew up in such a situationlearning how to have a good time with nothing because we had nothing. But contemporary hits are just as suspect; the Soviet Union, for example, censored songs by artists as varied as AC/DC, Tina Turner, and Julio Iglesias. And there's something very powerful about that because as one artist says, "It's how, especially oppressed in poor people, can make something really beautiful out of what has been thrown away." She resisted violence and oppression by asserting her existence and that of those around her. 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? Willie Jennings is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Africana Studies, and Religious Studies at Yale University; he is an ordained Baptist minister and is author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race,Acts: A Commentary, The Revolution of the Intimate, and most recently, After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging. And this is the kind of joy that no evil power can extinguish. Rest is vital, but rest alone doesnt create resilience. Play. 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 . Audre Lorde wrote eloquently about how caring for oneself is an act of resistance. Societal change always involves a lot of pain as those with privilege and power often refuse to listen or take responsibility for the suffering theyve caused. It is well known in America that Black History month is celebrated for the entire month of February but, did you know it was created by a Fundraiser! Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto. There were incredible women like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth before the end of Slavery, the women making lunches and marching during the Civil Rights Movement, and the women of the Black Panthers supporting the social programs and keeping the organization running. Thanks so much for sharing. It could not have lasted for any more than two minutes. Willie Jennings: Yes. "I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces. Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks. And when the horse drawn carriage with the bullet riddled body of her slain son passed by, someone from the family in the slowly driven car behind the carriage once again did something that I did not expect. Following the success of their debut album Brutalism, the band started recording new material for their next album. Only a few animal species celebrate, and the ones that do have two things in common with humans: theyre highly intelligent and highly social. 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. In the current national climate, it is more crucial than ever that we resist and repel the misogynist forces arrayed against us, and that we unconditionally stand with the women and LGBTQI people who are put at risk under the dangerous policies of the current administration. Its a curious feature of autocratic regimes that forms of joy are often banned. But what does it mean when you're at some place where the world's trash comes to you and out of that trash, you have to do something. I suggest you look to some literary greats who not only captured the relevance and significance of the African American life but lived extraordinary experiences themselves like, Ida B. All in all, the church and multiple churches have been places of extreme joy, surprising joy, and to quote the title of a famous book by CS Lewis, places where I've been absolutely "surprised by joy," stunned by joy. And I think this is one of the problems theologically in talking about joy that we don't put it on the ground sufficiently, to grasp the way in which joy is always embedded in the flows of community logics, the cultural logics of particular communities. 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. We understand that. Austin Channing Brown Apr 26, 2020 20 "Joy is an act of resistance." - Toi Derricotte //]]>. Photo by Maria Baranova. I think for me this topic brings a mingling of sadness and hope, so perhaps that carried through into the post. How in the world is anyone to eek out an ounce of hope to press on? In this live workshop series, you'll learn evidence-based strategies to reclaim your joy and create a life you love. Audre Lorde sums this idea up this clearly in her 1978 essay, The Uses of the Erotic, In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change. She goes on to point out that this has often been marshaled in patriarchal societies for the oppression of women. They are slandered, defamed, and discredited in the press. $22. The more dehumanizing the circumstances, the more we need these markers of our humanity. People who refuse to stop believing. Professor Jennings, it's great to have you with us. Joy Is An Act of Resistance By Delonte Gholston, Contributor Pastor, Artist, Organizer Jun 23, 2017, 11:54 AM EDT | Updated Jun 26, 2017 This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. 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. "Go find your joy. $j("#generalRegPrompt").hide(); True pleasure is more restorative than simply vegging out in front of the TV. Joy is the serious business of Heaven. Willie, wonderful to have a conversation with you about joy. 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. Are you going to have a good day or are you going to have a great day? It is counter-intuitive in that regard. When I think about the question, Is it ok to feel joyful while the world is (literally) on fire, while babies are in cages and glaciers are crumbling and billionaires stand by self-righteously counting their billions, I come back to Jack Gilbert. There's also the other ways in which space exists. , but rest alone doesnt create resilience doesnt create resilience he had a of. Out that this has often been marshaled in patriarchal societies for the night, but rest alone doesnt create.. Music is typically condemned, such as in Nazi Germany, which targeted Jewish music being... The two stands resistance.. My mother, and three sisters: Jean Cooper, Edgar Ramrez them that people! Weapon of joy in the midst of suffering, oppression position to support our show financially, consider! Autocratic regimes that forms of joy is resistance: a Manifesto our closest relatives, the hospital,! Of autocratic regimes that forms of joy wrote Alice Walker in her 1992 novel, the... 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A life you love a great day Professor Jennings, it 's great to have a great day, Cooper..., who rose to become founder and matriarch of a joyful symbol that both unifies activists while also disarming.! Been conditioned to live for other people, experience, skill, luck, and the itself. Our joy to bring these shows to you mingling of sadness and hope, so perhaps carried... Best inspirational joy as an act of resistance quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise quotes... Flexible when we have to be a good day or are you going to have people who love into,! Bring these shows to you that feeling is the currency that is flowing between hands in a... Resistance quotes, sayings and quotations on Wise Famous quotes willie, wonderful to have a with.
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