Day 29: Joy Is Also Labor.
Celebration, laughter, rest, dance – these are not luxuries. They are essential to movement work and survival. Young people model joy as resistance: in music, in fashion, in language, in gathering. Joy is sacred labor that renews us all.
Across movements and cultures, joy has always been more than a fleeting moment – it is strategy, medicine, and survival:
Freedom Songs of the Civil Rights Movement – Singing in marches and jails didn’t just keep spirits high – it built courage and solidarity. As Fannie Lou Hamer said, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired,” but her songs carried communities through struggle.
Carnival & Street Festivals – From Trinidad’s Carnival to Brazilian blocos to Juneteenth parades, public celebrations affirm life and community even in the shadow of oppression.
Comedy & Language Play – Black, queer, and immigrant youth create memes, slang, and performance art that satirize power, remind us we are not alone, and turn struggle into laughter.
Rest as Resistance – The Nap Ministry, founded by Tricia Hersey, reminds us that “rest is a form of resistance because it disrupts and pushes back against capitalism and white supremacy.”
“Joy is an act of resistance.” – Toi Derricotte
Joy is not an afterthought to justice – it is how we sustain justice. It is not frivolous, it is fuel. And young people remind us, again and again, that love of life is the greatest refusal of oppression.
Reflection Question
Where do you find joy in your life and work, and how might embracing joy as sacred labor help sustain your spirit and community?
Learn More
- The Nap Ministry – Centering rest as resistance.
- BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) – Young Black organizers centering healing and joy in movement work.
- Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago – Preserving the joyful legacy of Carnival as cultural resistance.
- Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism – Exploring how joy and pleasure are central to justice.
A Blessing for the Joyous
May your laughter echo louder than oppression.
May your dancing feet carry generations forward.
May your rest be deep and unapologetic.
May your joy be honored as sacred labor,
fueling the love of life itself.
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