On black joy, oppression and more with Kleaver Cruz

Kleaver Cruz, founder of The Black Joy Project, New York native, writer and outstanding poet shares their thoughts on the importance and value of spreading black joy. Kleaver beautifully tells us about how they personally maintain joy daily, even in the face of oppression. Many other powerful thoughts were also shared in regards to why they write and the importance of having campaigns that are specific to the black community.

Photo courtesy of Zac McDowell

Angelica: Throughout @theblackjoyproject Instagram various people give their definition of what black joy means to them. What is your own personal definition of black joy?

Kleaver Cruz: Firstly, thank you Angelica for reaching out to me and creating a space for this conversation! My definition of Black joy is in flux, especially now that i have heard so many other definitions from the people who've been in conversation with me about this question. At its core, for me it's in knowing I have the ability to find and create joy for myself. It's also a form of resisting the possibility of living at the mercy of a world that does not value Black lives in the ways it should and needs to.

Angelica: Could you share with us why it is important to put messages and images out of black joy ?

Kleaver: It is important to share these messages because we are living in a time where the Internet allows us to share everything and in the last couple of years there's been a sharing of very triggering images and videos of Black pain and slain lives in ways and with a frequency that wasn't necessarily possible before. These images serve as a bridge between what we've always known to be true and highly visible proof in public platforms. What I'm saying is that we can hold those images and hold the images of Black people enjoying their lives. I started sharing those images because I was going through some deep personal sadness (still am) and I was allowing myself to be real about the ways that being directly involved with movement work and just being a black queer Latinx in the world have traumatized and hurt me. I knew I wasn't alone. I knew that in spite of all these oppressive forces a lot of the people I love and know (and don't know at all) have had and continue to have moments of joy in the face of all of that. After a couple of weeks of posting pictures and inviting people to join me, I thought formalizing it into The Black Joy Project could offer a corner of the Internet to be a source of that joy.

Angelica: How do you find,create, and maintain joy in your daily life?

Kleaver: It happens in a lot of ways. As a writer, writing through what is happening in my life brings me joy. Singing loudly and dancing by myself (or with friends) at home brings me joy. Sharing a smiling with a stranger and doing something small like offering my seat on the train. Looking at myself in the mirror and smiling. Pretending it's a sunny day :)

Angelica: We constantly undergo oppression, face discrimination, overt racism and systematic racism these things begin to really weigh on us sometimes which is why some people in our community commit suicide. I think what makes the Black Joy Project so powerful is that it provides positivity, reassurance, affirmation, love, and strength. What other projects do you think could be implemented to uplift and empower individuals who are having a difficult time dealing with their oppression?

Kleaver: I see these types of projects as opportunities to work through, resist and when possible dismantle the oppression experienced. I think there are numerous ideas for what else can exist and there are many folks already making them a reality. Namely, the #EveryBlackGirl Matters campaign led through some members of the BLM NYC Chapter, the incredible programming produced by Girls for Gender Equity is vital in this conversation as well as Jamal T. Lewis' project, No Fats, No Femmes to name a few. It's important to acknowledge that we exist at intersections of identity and these projects I've named are integral to address what is occurring at those intersections.

Angelica: For those days when people feel exhausted from fighting against inequality, what are a few words of wisdom that you would give to that individual who needs a reason to continue fighting for racial equality?

Kleaver:

It is our duty to fight for our freedom

It is our duty to win

We must love each other and protect each other

We have nothing to lose but our chains.

-Assata Shakur

Angelica: Outside of your online campaign TheBlackJoyProject you also are a writer. I have read some of your works and they are very moving. What influenced you to begin writing and how old were you when you began?

Kleaver: Thanks for reading some of my work! My journey with words began in the second grade with Ms. Fields. She read Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise" to our class and I can't remember why. I just know she really loved us. When she was done reading, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to write moving words like Maya. So I asked Ms. Fields how do I become like Maya and she said write. Write a book. So by the end of 2nd grade I wrote my first book, Through My Window. It was a collection of poems about my 8 year old life. I still have it and recently stopped going everywhere with it because it was starting to fall apart.

Angelica: What power do you believe writing holds?

Kleaver: Writing has always offered me the space to reckon with my thoughts, to be honest with myself and to then create and/or imagine what is possible in the world. It's also allowed me to write what didn't exist when I needed it the most. More simply said, writing can offer an opportunity to use your imagination. I don't necessarily mean in the sense of fantasy, but to really imagine how what you understand to be true in the world can be coupled with what it is you want to be true in the world. For me that means freedom and love for all Black people everywhere and particularly those that exist at intersections that the world disapproves of and literally kills everyday.

Angelica: What is the main thing that you hope to give, restore, or build in the black community ?

Kleaver: I'm not sure about what I hope to give, restore or build, but I know that I want to complicate the understanding of Blackness. I want to be a part of the work to expand the understanding of the Diaspora and how we are connected to it throughout the world and inside of this imagined nation. I want to use writing as a space for Black folks with similar lived experiences to feel validated and not alone after reading my words.

Angelica: Any additional comments?

Kleaver: Thank you for reaching out to me. I started this project as a means to work through darkness in my life and that turned into a spiritual call to build community around this effort. I'm so touched by how much a digital space has resonated with living and breathing, beautiful Black people.

---

Visit www.kleavercruz.com to stay up to date on their recent projects, to read their work and more.

Follow On

Twitter: @kleavercruz

Instagram: @theblackjoyproject

#blackjoy #kleavercruz #oppression #interview #spotlight