Publishers Weekly
01/08/2024
Activist Cruz aims in their uplifting if uneven debut to “amplify joy and affirm it as a form of resistance” in the Black community. Inspired by the author’s eponymous organization, the collection presents eye-catching photography, paintings, and mixed media pieces from artists around the world alongside Cruz’s meditations on Black joy as a “restorative, regenerative, and generous force” that “coexists with our baggage and our hurt” even as it carves out space for imagining a better world. There’s no shortage of insight in Cruz’s passionate discussions of how TikTok can unite communities and “foster Black joy across age and class lines” and Afro-Brazilian grassroots movements that protest police violence in favelas. Unfortunately, the prose suffers from awkward phrasing and strained metaphors, as when Cruz compares the adaptability of Black culinary traditions to moss (“Our continued practices of cooking are like those colonies of stalks that make up the thousand of varieties of moss that exist on this planet.... And we know that in the moment that we may not have what we need to create the dishes we desire, we will innovate, holding out like the stalks in freezing conditions until we can get access to those missing ingredients”), and the stunning images don’t always connect to the surrounding text. Still, this is a captivating celebration of Black resilience and resistance. Photos. Agent: Marya Spence, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
In literature, there are some books that transcend mere pages and ink, becoming essential pieces of cultural expression. One such book poised to make its mark is The Black Joy Project…. This ambitious work breaks new ground.” — Essence
"A stunning celebration of Black joy and resistance around the world." — The Root
"The Black Joy Project is The Black Book for a new millennium. Here is a patchwork quilt of visually stunning images, captured moments of triumph, antidotes to trauma narratives and rich, ebullient emotional and verbal spice for the soul. This is an irreplaceable volume." — Michael W. Twitty, culinary and cultural historian, and author of The Cooking Gene and Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew
"Fans of Humans of New York and beautiful art books should be sure to pick up this look at Black joy around the world." — Book Riot
"A bath and a balm. Powerful words accompanied by vibrant images affirm a joy that is not only palpable but possible. A promise and a prayer. Kleaver Cruz reminds us of all the ways that we've already experienced it and all the ways we are guaranteed to experience it again. As brilliant as it is beautiful, The Black Joy Project shows us, literally, that joy is ours for the naming." — Yaba Blay, author of One Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race
"What a book! What a wonder-full reckoning. A well of resistance, reclamation, and restorative splendor! I ate up The Black Joy Project in one grateful gulp and plan to return to these pages again and again." — Camille T. Dungy, author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden
"The Black Joy Project is a material expression of the everyday reverberations of Black ebullience that are often glossed over and characterized as less critical than rage. Black joy is a disruptive force, however, which upends the power of anti-Blackness and fortifies the collective spirit of Black people. Kleaver Cruz knows that to be true and has offered us this gift of a book that won't soon be forgotten for its beauty and power." — Darnell L. Moore, author of No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America
"Through exquisite essays and soul-grabbing art, Kleaver Cruz shows the majesty and many meanings of Black joy in the African Diaspora. The Black Joy Project is a gift that must be shared." — Jasmin Hernandez, author of We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World
"Uplifting…. This is a captivating celebration of Black resilience and resistance." — Publishers Weekly
"Already being touted as a cultural staple.... A transformative tool, the book holds up a type of literary mirror, reflecting the omnipresence of joy as a consistent tool in our arsenal and fight for true freedom." — Because of Them We Can
"This book is capacious. It is contemporary and historical, feminist and queer, personal and deeply invested in the collective. It does not privilege one corner of the Black world over another, while still offering nuanced perspectives about differences between Black communities.... A book this expansive about Africa and its diaspora might quickly become trite and stereotypical in the hands of a less capable writer. Our contemporary moment is rife with diaspora wars, selective gatekeeping, and disingenuous performance of community. But Cruz knows their people, and holds the tradition of Black joy with equal care and rigor. In a world that continues to only value Black life and art when we are killed, enslaved, hurt, struggling, or reduced, what a balm it is to spend two-hundred pages basking in joy as resistance, as a valid way to be in the world — outside the gaze of the colonizer and his descendants. The Black Joy Project is a gift we can return to again and again. We are so lucky to have it." — DominicanWriters.com
