“We are all connected. What unites us is our common humanity. I don't want to oversimplify things - but the suffering of a mother who has lost her child is not dependent on her nationality, ethnicity or religion. White, black, rich, poor, Christian, Muslim or Jew - pain is pain - joy is joy.” WantChildrenChristianPainJoyMotherSufferingHumanityLostBlackWhitePoorCommonRichJewConnectedDependentNationalityEthnicityRich PoorCommon Humanity Author:Desmond Tutu
“He[Michael Jackson] had a joy in being alive. There was a joy you felt of him on the stage and making us not just feel good but pushing us against ourselves with the "Man in the Mirror," looking at ourselves critically, "Black or White," what does it mean to get caught in a color as opposed to a rich history and culture?” MenFeelsMeanDoeJoyCultureFeltBlackWhiteRichAliveStageColorHe ManMirrorsCaughtFeel GoodPushingBlack Or WhiteHistory And Culture Author:Cornel West
“Jazz music hashaunted America for seventy years.It has tempted us out of our lily-white reserve with its black promise of untrammeled joy.” YearsAmericaJoyBlackWhitePromiseJazzReservesSeventiesTemptedJazz MusicLilies Author:John Clellon Holmes
“Because I am a one-legged, black, short, woman I had to spend every day of my life pushing against what society told me I should be. I had to sell my value every day of my life. Confidence is what enables us to push back on reality. Once you get good at that, you can use it to live your joy.” ShouldUseRealityJoyValuesBlackSellsPushing Author:Bonnie St. John
“Who among us is not at a loss for words? Tears pour out. Tears of joy. Tears of relief. A stunning, whopping landslide of hope in a time of deep despair. In a nation that was founded on genocide and then built on the backs of slaves, it was an unexpected moment, shocking in its simplicity: Barack Obama, a good man, a black man, said he would bring change to Washington, and the majority of the country liked that idea.” MenSaidIdeasCountryMomentsJoyNationsBlackCommunityLossSocietyTearsDespairBuiltMajoritySlaveSimplicityBarackReliefUnexpectedGood ManGenocideShockingStunningLandslidesTears Of JoyA Loss For WordsUnexpected Moments Author:Michael Moore
“If cathedrals had been universities If dungeons of the Inquisition had been laboratories If Christians had believed in character instead of creed If they had taken from the bible only that which is GOOD and thrown away the wicked and absurd If temple domes had been observatories If priests had been philosophers If missionaries had taught useful arts instead of bible lore If astrology had been astronomy If the black arts had been chemistry If superstition had been science If religion had been humanity The world then would be a heaven filled with love, and liberty and joy” IfsWorldArtCharacterWould BeChristianJoyHumanityHeavenBlackLibertyTakenTaughtFilledUniversityPhilosopherAstronomyAbsurdWickedThrownTemplesPriestsChemistrySuperstitionsCreedsAstrologyLaboratoryCathedralsInquisitionDungeonsDomesBlack Art Author:Robert Green Ingersoll
“All the forms of popular music from jazz to hip-hop, to bebop, to soul [come from black innovation]. You talk about different dances from the catwalk, to the jitterbug, to the Charleston, to break dancing -\-\ all these are forms of black dancing...What would [life] be without a song, without a dance, and joy and laughter, and music.” DifferentSoulFormLife IsJoySongBlackBreakLaughterInnovationDancingJazzHip HopHipsHopsPopular MusicCharlestonCatwalkBebop Author:Michael Jackson
“Darkness, whether in mood or in night, is natural. So if we flow with the black bile of melancholia and endure the terrible darkness of depression, eventually we will break through into the light of joy. This is the Tao (the Way) of darkness or depression--this is the Mystery of its evolution.” IfsWayLightJoyNightBlackNaturalBreakDarknessMysteryEvolutionTerribleFlowEndureMoodTaoBreak Through Author:Arnold Mindell