Celebrate Black Joy!

Celebrate Black Joy!

To honor the fullness of Black life, we are seeking stories of Black joy from our Black youth. We want to hear the things, big and small, that bring our young people happiness. This is a space specifically for Black voices. 

How can you do that? 

Step 1 : Create Your Joy List

What makes you happy? Think of lots of things, big and small, that bring you joy. Use one of our joy list templates like Ms. Kyley did, or make your own. After you’ve finished writing your list, please share it with us. You can snap a picture and email it to Ms. Rosie or text it to (504) 684-5595.

Our partners at Be Loud Studios have also set up a hotline!

– Call (504) 571- 9809 and wait for the beep.

– Tell us your name/age and read us your list.

Step 2 : Pick one thing from your list and make a plan. 

What is one experience from your list that you can write well about? Pick a good moment. It’s important to focus on one moment that you can describe in really good detail. The Explode the Moment  graphic organizer from ReadWriteThink can help you use your senses to paint a picture of what happened. Ms. Kyley decided to write about the moment her daughter conquered her fear of going down a big slide. You can watch a video of Ms. Kyley completing her graphic organizer here. 

Step 3: Write the moment. 

Use the Explode the Moment graphic organizer you completed to write about this moment. Put the details in the best order to tell your story of what made you happy.   You can watch Ms. Kyley write her story here. 

When you are finished, snap a photo of it, and send it to Ms. Rosie , or text it to (504) 684-5595. You can also submit it online.  If you can, send us a picture (drawn or real) to match the writing. We’ll follow up with you to see if you’d like do an audio recording of your story!