Justice is denied. Rosa and Maya inspire me in my work. $j("#connectPrompt").show(); These women have shown me what strength, determination, compassion and accountability look like and taught me to not take no s**t from anybody (lol)! This inexplicable power to dance in the midst of mourning is not to be smugly dismissed, as has many suggest, as some sort of slave religion or momentary hyper-spiritualized pie in the sky delusion. Willie Jennings: Yeah. It wouldn't be easy to find her, now. And then the second thing you have to have is a willingness to want to hold on to Life, even when there is very little that makes sense in life. Eugene H. Peterson We are two abysses - a well staring at the sky. Every year African American History month has a new theme. Weve seen how joy restores, unifies, and propels. "Peace without justice is tyranny." - William Allen White. Hallelujah. Miroslav Volf: You've spoken about kind of segregated joy, joy that's part of a particular identity inherited, forged in adversity, and in your particular case, as a legacy of slavery. The language of oppression is one of scarcity and fear, and I think to some extent, the activists goal must be to remind those who have been convinced that progress is a losing game for them that there is in fact enough to go around. Joy Suffering God. Oops! In communist Albania, the regime of Enver Hoxha famously banned the saxophone. At all points in the fight for equality for Black Americans, women have been driving the movement. It's almost like joy is this plant that is more easily springs in adversity than it does in a kind of plenty and posh kind of life that breeds more indifference. People who refuse to come to earth. I'm Evan Rosa, and I edited and produced the show. Love the ones you claim. Your submission has been received! The name "Ofglen" says nothing about who this woman really is; her only identity is as the Commander's property. 4. I think there are artists, musicians, painters, and others who have shown that there's possibilities of living in being sustained by a form of joy that is not homogeneous, that is fully captured inside, if you willan expanding world of different people being brought together inside the sheer love of the music, for example. But, the reality of it is that I have been in spaces of joy in hospital rooms, gathered with a family and a loved one who's passing on, but there are rituals of remembrance going on, grief processes being begun, and in the midst of that, incredible joyjoy connected to sorrow. Play. How on earth is anyone to find solace in the midst of such overwhelming grief? Audre Lorde sums this idea up this clearly in her 1978 essay, The Uses of the Erotic, In order to perpetuate itself, every oppression must corrupt or distort those various sources of power within the culture of the oppressed that can provide energy for change. She goes on to point out that this has often been marshaled in patriarchal societies for the oppression of women. Spiritual resistance refers to attempts by individuals to maintain their humanity, personal integrity, dignity, and sense of civilization in the face of Nazi attempts to dehumanize and degrade them. One way is through joy in the present. Stories that matter delivered to your inbox. Unsubscribe at any time. My pleasure. We are a people who have somehow been able to sing , live, and shout Hallelujah anyhow. Between the two stands Resistance.. It goes against everything that racism was designed to do. Menu. He is the author of the Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race, as well as his most recent book After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging.Jennings' joy is not for the faint of heart, the fair-weather friend, or a life of ease. So for today, Sojourner Truth is my inspiration. Willie Jennings: It's brought to us. It is counter-intuitive in that regard. Welcome back. "If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they probably will not survive.". Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Genres: Post-Punk, Post-Hardcore. In this live workshop series, you'll learn evidence-based strategies to reclaim your joy and create a life you love. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I also like, as I love to say, I'm making productive use of pain and suffering in the absurd, not in order to take them lightly, but to take them very seriously, but not to make them gods. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. $j("#facebookRegPrompt").hide(); On the other hand, the novel shows that even in her fearful passivity, Offred does manage to resist her oppressors in the small ways that are available to her. I love your posts and the joy they inspire in me. There is that space. Willie Jennings: Public rituals bound to real space. You can try to pin me down with a hundred thousand arms, but I will find a way to resist. And this is the kind of joy that no evil power can extinguish. There is something absolutely beautiful about the joy created by communities, especially oppressed communities. What dictators know is that joy has a propulsive force, and that anything that gathers and channels that energy threatens to upend the rigid control of a population. Within the imperialist white supremacist capitalist cis-heteropatriarchy, we generate joy by defying dominator culture. $j("#generalRegPrompt").hide(); In World War I, soldiers on both sides were known to cultivate gardens in the trenches. Visit faith.yale.edu/give. You were born to heal, to grow, to be of service to yourself and community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream, and to connect.". Rest is vital, but rest alone doesnt create resilience. Maya Angelou is a very good inspiration, especially for African American women, saying that she could rise above nations. One to watch out for. P.S. And there's something very powerful about that because as one artist says, "It's how, especially oppressed in poor people, can make something really beautiful out of what has been thrown away." When thinking about how you can celebrate African American History month this month and throughout the year, remember that poet Toi Derricotte said, "Joy is an act of resistance." And it's commercialized. Stepping back and taking in the Womens Marches around the world has almost been overwhelming. But when you see mounds of hot pink trash bags piled on a curb, it offers a striking, yet not aggressive, reminder to be less wasteful. There IS hope!! //