In celebration of Black History Month, we’ll be highlighting a diverse range of books, all written by Black American authors, all of which celebrate and prioritize Black Joy. We’ll be featuring a title every day through the month of February.
Kleaver Cruz, creator of the Black Joy project, says that “Black joy is resistance. Amplifying Black joy is not about dismissing or creating an ‘alternative’ Black narrative that ignores the realities of our collective pain; rather, it is about holding the pain and injustices we experience as Black folks around the world in tension with the joy we experience in pain’s midst. It’s about using that joy as an entry into understanding the oppressive forces we navigate through as a means to imagine and create a world free of them.”
Today’s work is editor Bryant Terry’s Black Food, a collection of recipes, art, essays, poems, playlists and cultural commentary from more than 100 Black voices across the diaspora. A vivid and highly visual tome that is equally at home in the kitchen or the coffee table, you can browse the the vibrant art and design, read it as a novel, or try one of the more than fifty recipes included, many of which are vegetarian or vegan. A rich and rewarding exploration of Black life, culture and food, this title defies category.
Stay tuned for a new book tomorrow!