In 2020, the term Black Joy started being heard all over. As black voices were rising to speak up about the deep injustice and murders against black lives, Black joy was introduced as an act of resistance against a system of oppression and racism. Since then, the term has been echoed louder and louder and we had a chance to sit down with two amazing creatives Tash and Anne Marjorie for an authentic conversation about what Black joy means to them.

From Anne Marjorie:

I just love to see Black people happy. Being able to create the life they want to create, moments of love and happiness. I’m tired of being resilient, but I’m embracing joy as an act of resistance.
To me, I practice joy by holding on to this confidence that no matter what happens God is still in control. We as Haitians, coming from a history of slavery, think we always need to be working.

Black Joy is about unlearning that life is about labor. it is about knowing that we deserve to enjoy life.
I grew up in a community where everybody’s life revolved around work, and I think from a heritage of slavery, they believed that they mattered only when they were doing . Finding freedom from that to embrace balance has changed my life tremendously.
I am deeply encouraged and influenced by the work of black creators on the internet, seeing visual representations of people who look like me , practicing rest , enjoying the simple pleasures of life gives me a boost to do the same .

Through this transparent conversation, both ladies got to share their stories and perspective. It was an enriching conversation where we got to dig deeper into what Black Joy means for everybody and how we can truly live it in our day to day lives. Tash and Anne-Marjorie are doing such a great job at showcasing this lately through their individual Instagram pages. Anne Marjorie recently reached 10K on Instagram and we believe that more people will have the chance to enjoy her purposeful content that always brings light to our timeline.

From Tash:
To me, black joy is about allowing ourselves to appear soft, to appear gentle, showing that there is more to us than the stories propagated online. Growing up in America, I’ve never felt like what I had to say about my culture, about the way I was raised as a black girl was ever a topic that people were interested in. It wasn’t until 2020 and Black Lives Matter that friends that had known me for years started asking questions and even caring about what I had to say about all of this. It is very important for me to put out all the things we know to be true, that we’ve held sacred for so long. All the things that we cherish as a community, we hold with each other and deserve to be shared and heard and valued. 2020 showed us that we need to show white people who we are and what is important to us.
Black women never appear soft in society. We are always seen as parenting out of fear, but our homes are filled with nurturing and love and more than what you see. Black people across the diaspora are tired of being strong, are tired of the fight. It’s time to live, to enjoy, to change the narrative, and to reposition ourselves for the future.
I deserve to have good experiences and I don’t have to earn them, or need to be worthy in some way to get them. And it’s so important to me raising our daughters that they know they are worthy and deserve certain things. Modeling a life of freedom is what is important to me, and knowing my kids are always watching to observe that, and that’s how I practice Black joy.

Watch our live replay here!

Don’t forget to follow Tash and Anne Marjorie on Instagram