I attended an event a couple years ago during which Advisory Committee member Andrea Walls raised questions about the difficulty researching Black joy in the archive. She put words to something I had been feeling for a long time. Researching and working in Black history as a Black person can often be discouraging. This is not only due to the typical reasons that research and the workplace can be a challenge, but also, as Advisory Committee member Dr. Portia Hopkins says, because there is “trauma in the archive.” The records have an energy to them that researchers, staff, and community members carry with us in the world.

Enter Black Joy and Resilience ✨

I was invited to participate in proposing and executing this planning grant project in 2022. Three years later, this project is a beacon of light during a very dark time. While my normal job responsibilities require that I read about enslavement and Jim Crow era disenfranchisement, Black Joy and Resilience gives me an opportunity to breathe and even celebrate Black history and culture. I am particularly obsessed with a photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. posing in his matching shorts set in the segregated “Chicken Bone Beach” area of the Atlantic City boardwalk. 

Hope it brings you joy, too. If not, explore the site to find something that does!

-Dr. Synatra Smith, Co-PI