Amir Gilmore’s Three Minute Thesis
Black Boy Joy: The Social Practice of I am
Black Boy Joy is a social and spiritual practice of refusing systems of whiteness and white supremacy. It is saying no to the terms, codes, rules, and laws that subjugate Black males. Within these disavowals, Black males create spaces of affirmation where they are felt, heard, seen, and matter. Black Boy Joy seeks the reclamation of Black stories, voices, and identities through the arts and humanities. Moreover, Black Boy Joy is the refusal to passively wait for a future that envisions Black humanity, as it provides the possibility to live unbounded lives. Black Boy Joy gives Black males the future(s) that they want now.
