Artist Celebrates Black History Month With NewWe Are Joy Series

The other day I saw I Am Not Your Negro, the documentary on the late James Baldwin. It was entirely narrated with his own words and it was magnificent. His grasp on language and skill with which he was able to capture and articulate the Black experience and simultaneously hold White people accountable is unmatched, from the writers, thinkers and activists of his time or any other.

There’s one quote from the film that really arrested me. I’m so sorry that I haven’t been able to locate the exact quote but it was Baldwin speaking about the ways in which light explodes from a Black face when that person is smiling or laughing. Again, I apologize for not having the quote on hand but I mention it because it was the pieces of that quote, and the feeling of truth and recognition it produced in me that came to mind when I learned of Laurent B. Chevalier’s We Are Joy project.

On the website, the project is described as follows.

“In America, Blackness is a burden. It is a historical weight that seems to reinvent itself at every turn. This burden is laid on our people by ignorance or maliciousness, and with this often comes negative associations with Blackness. However, this weight, and this pressure has galvanized a culture. It has given a group of people with varying interests and ideas a common tie connecting them all. There are beautiful shared experiences in which the root of the beauty in that moment is Blackness. There are moments that can only truly be appreciated through the lens of that culture. This February, we celebrate those moments by sharing images each day of the month, from “We Are Joy”. “We Are Joy” is a portrait series utilizing the power of storytelling to share memories of the beauty of black lives, and to create imagery indicative of that beauty. Each subject in the series has been asked to share a personal joyful memory, in which being Black was the key element. Through this process of story preservation and image creation, we have a necessary collective reminder of how good it is to be Black.”

Check out a few of our favorites from the list.

#WeAreJoy Day 2. “It was my first time ever coming to Brooklyn, and growing up in Seattle, it is diverse in our own way, maybe high school or whatever, but its not really fully diverse. Like I would go to basketball games and things, but I could never remember being in a space with just like thousands of black people. So I remember it was fashion week, and it was also the weekend that they had Ft Greene day in Ft. Greene park. A friend lived in Ft Greene so we just walked over, and there were white people there too, but there were like thousands and thousands of black people who looked like themselves. It wasn’t like “oh this girl has a weave, this girl has natural hair”. There was individualism which I thought was dope. I was like “this is where I need to live”. And I made a decision in that moment that I was going to move. “ Tara Liggins #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 2, 2017 at 7:19am PST

It’s day 4 of #WeAreJoy, a special day because today’s post is also Bae . Check out her black joy memory: “I think a lot of it has to do with family. One of my earliest memories was when I went to Haiti, and meeting a lot of my family members for the first time. I have a lot of memories from that, and I think I was 3 at the time. Which crazy to have that memory engrained in my mind. I have [the memory of] visiting my cousins, and my aunt who passed away last year. Of being at her and her husband’s corner-store, and being at the well and seeing all these Haitian kids come and pump water. And I remember thinking “oh my god I would never be able to do that”. Just kind of basking in the experience, like that real Haitian experience. I was just in awe. Watching these kids pump water in the well, take the bucket, and put it on their head. And they were small kids like me. Since my aunt passed away, I connect that memory specifically to that. Because she died recently, I think about her being in my life, and a-lot of those memories that I have of her were when I visited Haiti and being at her shop and being with them. “ Maureen Saturne #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 4, 2017 at 12:16pm PST

It may not be Christmas but we can always celebrate a holiday. A fellow black joy creator @debracartwright talks about the love of family for today’s #WeAreJoy – “My family is very close. We have a nuclear family, ‘the nukes’ I call it. And last Christmas was probably my favorite Christmas we’ve had. It was rooted in black joy because “Sounds Of Blackness” is always playing Christmas morning. My dad made us all mimosas, and it was even before we opened the presents we were pretty lit. And my sister and I have our onesies on, like little red onesies with santas on the feet. Anyways, there’s a song that in Sounds Of Blackness is called ‘Christmas Chitlins’. So my sister and I created a coordinated dance, [singing] ‘Dance chitterlins dance, it ain’t very often you get this chance, so dance chitterlins dance, Christmas party’s tonight’. So anyway we kept doing that and my dad joined in, and we were just all vibing, and my mom was cracking up. I have a really great family. I was extremely happy in that moment. Also, my dad kept screaming ‘Pop champagne! Ohhh!’ the whole rest of the day.“ Debra Cartwright #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 8, 2017 at 10:54am PST

This post spoke to me, because it mentions ribs. Day 10 of #WeAreJoy ! Comment below with some of your fav food spots (I want to go to them all). Here is Courtney McKnight with hers. – “So basically any day I walk into Royal Rib House. Any single day. Every time I walk into royal rib house, especially when the line is long. That is when I am most happy. I get in the line, and the line is surrounded by everybody who loves everybody, and loves the food, and loves Jay, and Calvin and the family. And you don’t care how long you’re gonna wait in that line. You know you’re gonna stay there and ask for extra cornbread. And just nothing is ever wrong with that moment, ever. You might be tired of standing there for 2 hours (its not really 2 hours but it is long). I’m happy every single time I step in that line. And I feel super black. And super happy. And super proud. That is my happiest, on a regular basis, black moment.” Courtney McKnight #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 10, 2017 at 10:50am PST

New week! New Story! Hear @leezajonee talk about coming up in the south for #WeAreJoy – “I grew up in North Carolina, and my mom and I moved around a lot. The school I went to in third grade, I was the only black girl in my class. My mom went up to the school and complained and questioned why I as the only black girl in the class. And it was joyful for me because I had never seen that before. I never had to experience that before. Honestly nothing even came of it, but it just was nice to see that recognized.” Leeza Jonee #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 12, 2017 at 11:25am PST

#WeAreJoy is popping almost as much as the hair of today’s subject @shanikahillocks Check out the black joy story of this foodie – “A pivotal moment for me and a true expression of black joy, was probably when I big chopped my hair actually. So I’ve grown up in a lot of suburb communities throughout my life. I’ve always sort of been the token black girl to say the least. So coming to NY I was exposed to a lot of cultures, and true exposure of black culture living in Harlem. Tons of beautiful women with natural hair, and I’d been going back and forth in my mind with whether or not I wanted to do it. And finally I was like alright, I’m going to take the jump and this would be it. So I big chopped my hair, and it definitely was liberating, and I just started feeling even more confident in myself. I don’t identify as someone who is lacking in self esteem, but I think the increase in self esteem in my beauty and understanding and getting comfortable with this texture that I was born with and embracing it to the fullest is definitely something that did give me personal joy. In the same breath, I just was lifted up by other people who saw that beauty. For me that was something, that as a young black woman in a society that is always showcasing a beauty that doesn’t look like yours, was quite important.” Shanika Hillocks #thebottomlesseye

A post shared by Laurent Chevalier (@chevaliercreative) on Feb 15, 2017 at 10:59am PST

You can keep up with Chevalier’s daily stories and photographs on his website or through his Instagram page.

All images via Laurent B. Chevalier.

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