Let us know what you're interested in. Miroslav Volf: So you walk and you think, "I need to walk into a space of joy." We know the ritual all too well. Lyrically, Joy as an Act of Resistance focuses on lead singer Joe Talbot's troubled past & many timely themes like . But, there's also the goodness of the joy that transcends, that reach us out, that includes the other people, and music is one of the spaces where that can happen. And we'll be back with more next week. The Handmaid's Tale is a study of an ordinary, non-heroic person's response to severe repression. They work tirelessly to defend the rights and safety of sex workers in downtown Bogot and the broader LGBTQAI community who suffer not only from social stigma but also police brutality. ", The commercialization of joy in the empire of advertisingcontrasting that with the peoples serious work of joy, The work and skill of making something beautiful out of what has been thrown away, Segregated joyjoy in African diaspora communities, Joy is always embedded in community logics, Geographies of joy: Christians tend not to think spatially, but we should, Hoping for joyous infection, where the space has claimed you as its own, Where can joy be found? The reverse is also true that the secret of joy is resistance. And so what we have neglected is that joy is fundamentally tied to space. Search within the 97 Quotes About Joy. Anne K. Ream is the founder of The Voices and Faces Project, a global storytelling project, the author of "Lived Though This: Listening to Sexual Violence Survivors," and a Founding Co-Chair at World Without Exploitation, the national coalition to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. So I thank them for being fighters and challenging the status quo for standing up for all of us. Ethologists have observed chimpanzees celebrating the arrival of a caretaker delivering a bunch of blackberry vines, a favored food, to their enclosure. Willie, wonderful to have a conversation with you about joy. Put yourself in the way of beauty." Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto. Rest is vital, but rest alone doesnt create resilience. The New York Times recently did a piece on the power of the garden at Rikers Island, which is managed by inmates. One of the ways it does this is by affirming our humanity. 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. Albert Einstein A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. The hooting spreads among the group, and the chimps begin to hug and kiss each other, with friendly body contact increasing as much as a hundredfold. 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. 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. "That's the heart of rock 'n' roll, that's its . We can do without pleasure, but not delight. We understand that. "Resistance is the secret of joy." Alice Walker 20. I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces, all the forces of despair. There can be complaint, but you're spending a lot of energy just trying to hold it together. $j("#connectPrompt").show(); Joy is the currency that is flowing between hands in such situation. 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. It wouldn't be easy to find her, now. Can you expand on that? Hallelujah. C.S. Miroslav Volf: I don't know whether I'm maybe romanticizing things, but it seemed to me that from what I have observed growing up, but also when I have traveled, that I find more joy in the midst of oppression in almost paradoxical way, than I find in plenty. Now, obviously we're talking beyond a kind of cultural tourism or kind of theological tourism. Joy is a sign of vibrant life, of thriving. Miroslav Volf: So if I hear you correctly, there's something right and good about a kind of particularity of joy for an individual, particularity of joy of a family, particularity of joy of a cultural group. I love you. It takes hold of them. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. But the most celebratory of all animals are our closest relatives, the chimpanzees. And as if nobody there missed a beat, Ms. Myricks, and everybody there knew that it was time to dance in his honor. faith.yale.edu/media/joy-and-the-act-of-resistance-against-despair. They moved the needle forward by challenging stereotypes in a very aggressive and sometimes shocking manner, forcing important gender issues to the forefront while demanding equality in how women were seen and treated. Willie Jennings: Despair in all of the ways that despair wants to drive us toward death, and wants to make death the final word. They resist being changed., Most of us have two lives. Joy in that regard is a work that can become a state that can become a way of life. Take this 3-minute quiz and find out. Every single person let the healing waves of music wash over them with their soulful and buoyant caress, and just danced their hearts out right where they stood. 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. $22. Miroslav Volf: And in some ways you've got this space for joy, but you can constitute in it also a space of joy. Well, as the organist played and the choir sang, Jesus is My Help, she was dancing. "If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they probably will not survive.". The ones who are yours. Thank you! This week, we're featuring a conversation between Miroslav and Willie James Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. Without that belief, theres no point in fighting. And here I'm not thinking primarily about African-American or African diaspora communities, but I'm thinking about the way in which multiple communities, their joy is inside of a hard segregation. Menu. From the likes of Ari Up and Poly Styrene, who didnt sing about obtaining male affection or rely on stereotypical concepts of female self-worth, to outrageously hyper-sexualized women like Wendy O. Williams and Marian Anderson, who recaptured ownership of their bodies, these women were bold, outspoken, and as the kids say nowadays, woke. In China under Mao, listening to the music of Beethoven was a crime. "Oh, the Spirit's coming." I think for me this topic brings a mingling of sadness and hope, so perhaps that carried through into the post. Thanks so much for your thoughtful feedback. The church, the hospital room, the barber shop and beauty shopsthings are going to be better". 8. In this live workshop series, you'll learn evidence-based strategies to reclaim your joy and create a life you love. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. Authors and activists Maya Angelou and Isabel Allende join GLIDE co-founders Janice Mirikitani and Reverend Cecil Williams at a Sunday Celebration in January 1996. But what does it mean when you're at some place where the world's trash comes to you and out of that trash, you have to do something. As always, thanks for listening. While we can justifiably be concerned about rainbow-washing, its a measure of success that brands and companies see LBGTQ pride as something theyre eager (even desperate) to be associated with. It cannot., Humanism is the only - I would go so far as saying the final- resistance we have against the inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history., People don't resist change. Rewind. The throngs of mourners and supporters lined the isles of the church, crowded the lobby and balcony areas, and spilled out of the church onto the outside lawn. Clad in black plastic bags that blend into the cityscape, the consequences of our disposable culture become almost invisible. She is a badass! Im constantly moved and inspired by her passion to fight for underrepresented and marginalized people. For women, this has meant a suppression of the erotic as a considered source of power and information within our lives. The denigration of feminine forms of joy, such as romance novels and films, fashion and home decor, is another manifestation of this insidious form of repression. Rest Is Resistance Quotes Showing 1-30 of 84. If you're in a position to support our show financially, please consider partnering with us. Essentially, hope is the belief that tomorrow can be better than today. Music, dance, art, eroticism: all of these fuel an emotional response that creates momentum, one that can be hard to control. At that moment, I witnessed the joy of a community that, even in mourning, knew that it had access to one of the most powerful tools of resistance to a system of state sponsored violence and oppression that seeks to crush the joyful spirits of vibrant communities like these. The lizard brain is hungry, scared, angry, and horny. Your submission has been received! But isn't difficulty, suffering, hardshiparen't these necessary conditions for joy to even take place? But fundamentally, that is built uponand I never want to draw too sharp a distinction between other kinds of spaces and that geographic spacewe really should start to attend to where do we find joy, where do we find joy. Nurtured by centuries of spiritual practices both in Africa and here in America, this a bold and prophetic act of resistance and defiance of a demonic force that seeks to kill you and to snuff out your joy. Acceptance and support is what encourages Autistic kids like Knox to advocate for themselves. 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.". But the emotion, the phenomenon, the virtue, the state, whatever joy is, it resists definition: different from happiness, and pleasure, and positivity, often out of our control, often present in the most surprising circumstances. Fernando Pessoa This episode featured theologians, Willie Jennings and Miroslav Volf. This sleeve has quite a fragile wide spine. I will read it again with an open mind and see if its just my over sensitivity to political messages and political leanings when Im looking for neutrality and joy for all. When asked about her experience of being an Asian American woman . Rosa and Maya inspire me in my work. Willie Jennings: I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces, all the forces of despair. Joy is Resistance - by Austin Channing Brown Joy is Resistance It's easy to feel like only the big stuff matters, but resistance to injustice is sometimes about pool, cake, and dancing. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. My mother, and three sisters: Jean Cooper, Zwazzi Sowo and Lillian Mark! To be able to choose our joy and experience it, this is the freedom so many are fighting for. I have no earthly idea how it happened. But while there are good reasons to fear complacency, joy is fundamentally different than turning a blind eye. These experiences of synchrony create a physiological experience of community, one that can be profoundly unconscious. The theologian Willie James Jennings said it better than we can: "I look at joy as an act of resistance against despair and its forces all the forces of despair." He said that in 2014, long . The separation of the races geographically speaking, and not simply socially speaking. While communal joy represents an outright danger to a repressive regime, individual joy can also empower resistance. The legacy of the Morrill Act is not only our great colleges and universities like Rutgers but the American tradition that merit and not money should give people a chance for a higher education. This is great! So the cultural haunts and habitat of a people, this is where their joy is made known. Joy as an Act of Resistance is the second studio album by British rock band Idles, released on 31 August 2018 by Partisan Records. My pleasure. Miroslav Volf: So if you have a kind of cultural logic that sets patterns for expressions of joy, but it ends up being segregated joy, how do you break open out of the enclosure? I met Jack Gilbert a couple of times. Its a mass movement. Singer Joe summarizes: "This album is an attempt to be . And joy in that regard is a work that can become a state that can become a way of life. Black joy is, and always has been, an act of resistance. And lastly, joy provides a glimpse of a better future that keeps us motivated to work toward it. One of the challenges of activism is that the fights are long, the progress often slow, and the effort required thankless and grueling. There's a very powerful analogy to, if you will, the work of the spirit at that moment, that a space is created not by you, but in a strange sort of way without you knowing it, it's for you. And that is: segregated joy is fundamentally a part of the reality of segregation, which means that it is a joy that in many instances is built on insult, is built on hatred of the other. "Go find your joy. Even in the rebellious punk rock subculture, misogyny was rampant. 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. It was released in August 2018 and recorded throughout 2017-18. if (this.auth.status === "not_authorized") { We also need moments of release and celebration to mark the small victories and restore body and mind. Joy is an act of resistance. I plan to share it with my friends and families, just as I shared your book. Evan Rosa: For the Life of the World is a production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School. Joy lets us reclaim our humanity. Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkF_G-RF66MUK punk outfit IDLES returns with an album that improves on the brutal and politically charged style the b. I appreciate your feedback. Whatever that is, go find your joy. We've been taught that silence would . Carter G. Woodson. Kathleen Hanna, like Marian, suffered from sexual abuse at a young age and used the stage to not only wrestle with her pain, but also to establish the riotgrrl movement. While communal joy represents an outright danger to a repressive regime, individual joy can also empower resistance. Sydney, a founding member of EL Education's Student Advisory Council, makes the impossible seem possible daily by using Black joy as an act of Black Resistance. Things arent perfect, but these bold women are responsible for a lot of change in thought around girls and women what they are capable of, their value, their position, etc. Joy: Directed by David O. Russell. When psychologists study people engaged in communal singing, dance, or other rhythmic forms of entertainment, they find that we become connected on a physical level. Lee's grandaughter, Dione Sims, who is also a civil rights advocate, has been helping her in the . We produce new episode every Saturday, and you can subscribe through any podcast app. Take, for example, The Singing Revolution: a four-year series of protests involving mass singing demonstrations that swept across Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia between 1987 and 1991, eventually leading to their independence. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. People who love in a world without walls, people who love into hate, into refusal, against hope, and without fear. It is counter-intuitive in that regard. To laugh in the face of fear is possibly the bravest act, which is why Saffiyah Khan became an instant hero in the United Kingdom when she smiled at fascist thugs from the far-right, racist movement English Defence League who began harassing Muslim women in her hometown. "In contexts where your energies have to be focused on survival, it doesnt leave a lot of energy for overt forms of complaintyoure spending a lot of energy just trying to hold it together. We're passionate about making this work consistently accessible to people who are genuinely concerned about the viability of faith in a world racked with division, contested views about what it means to be human, and what it means to live life well. This is the joy of resistance. We're grateful that you're listening to this podcast. 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." What does a life of healing, flourishing, and joy even look like for communities that are constantly riddled with deeply traumatic pain? 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