
Black Joy
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Narrated by:
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Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
About this listen
Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Instructional
With deeply personal and uplifting essays in the vein of Black Girls Rock!, You Are Your Best Thing, and I Really Needed This Today, this is “a necessary testimony on the magic and beauty of our capacity to live and love fully and out loud” (Kerry Washington).
When Tracey M. Lewis-Giggetts wrote an essay on Black joy for The Washington Post, she had no idea just how deeply it would resonate. But the outpouring of positive responses affirmed her own lived experience: that Black joy is not just a weapon of resistance, it is a tool for resilience.
With this book, Tracey aims to gift her community with a collection of lyrical essays about the way joy has evolved, even in the midst of trauma, in her own life. Detailing these instances of joy in the context of Black culture allows us to recognize the power of Black joy as a resource to draw upon, and to challenge the one-note narratives of Black life as solely comprised of trauma and hardship.
“Lewis-Giggetts etches a stunning personal map that follows in her ancestors’ footsteps and highlights their ability to take control of situational heartbreak and tragedy and make something better out of it….A simultaneously gorgeous and heartbreaking read” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
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Featured Article: 175+ of the Best Quotes from Black Authors, Activists, Entrepreneurs, and Artists to Celebrate Black History Month
Black History is American History. Whether writers, poets, activists, entertainers, scientists, entrepreneurs, or some combination thereof, Black people have frequently offered exactly the right words when they were needed most. This sweeping collection of wise, stirring, and thought-provoking words from Black Americans offers much to inspire all Americans.
What listeners say about Black Joy
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- Judy
- 07-21-24
Writing style was like fresh poetry and storytelling at the same time.
Uplifting mostly, but definitely written by someone young enough to have more life to live which will change her outlook many times over.
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- shandell northern
- 06-16-22
A must read/listen!!
To anyone who loves, knows or is a black woman this book gives insight into many varied experiences and speaks life.
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- Pamela Buford
- 02-28-22
Review of this book
It was a delight hearing this book. experiencing it. listening to her references oh it just made my heart glad. thank you Tracy!!!!
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- Candie P.
- 03-07-22
Well written, inspiring and absolutely relatable!
Whew! It would take a dissertation to adequately unpack the gems in this book! My favorite chapter is Chapter 7- “Smells like Blackness” which poetically and masterfully expresses the universality and collective diasporic experience of black joy! TRULY “the bite of our bounce back.” Well done!
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- Michelle Lawrence
- 04-05-25
Joyfully Masterpiece 🥰
I loved everything about this book. From start to the bold finish.The author is brilliant and gifted with her finesse for weaving painful prose and stark truths and with golden threads of the power of Black joy🙏🏾🤲🏾✊🏾💕
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- Brittany Graves
- 03-28-22
Unforgettable
You don’t read/listen to this book, you experience it!
I’ll be forever changed by this book.
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- ladyrain
- 07-13-22
Intentionally Read
This carefully curated collection is daring, bold, emotional and fun. Remarkable work! I look forward to more from Tracey.
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- KMDB
- 11-07-24
Uplifting and needed!
Such an inspiring read! Though we are diverse — her words speak so much truth for all our stories! A wonderful and comforting piece of literature — Thanks!
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- Christina Dancy
- 05-01-22
An awesome read... more than once
This is so good I and to purchase a paper copy so I can highlight and take notes. I felt heard throughout and recommend this to anyone on a journey to find and experience and abundance of Black Joy.
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- R. MEDINA
- 03-06-22
thought provoking and inspiring
A different perspective on a recurrent topic of #BLM
inspiring stories by the author
a story of resilience
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