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From woodworking to summer camp, there are endless ways to spread Black Joy

Detroit Heals Detroit leadership team. Pictured (left to right) Mercedes Luscious, Perriel Pace, Brianna Donald (bottom left) Kandise Hooks, Aalillian Jones, Shardae Bagwell, Shimira Jeffries, Cam Hollenquest , Ayme Head.
Reginald Todd
/
Fox Lens Studio
The Detroit Heals Detroit leadership team, including Brianna Donald (seated farthest left) and Camille Hollenquest (seated farthest right). The group of young leaders organized Black Joy Summer Camp, which is completely free for campers.

For Black Americans, following the news can be a psychological challenge. 4 in 5 Black adults say they see or hear racist or racially insensitive coverage about Black people at least sometimes. That’s according to a 2023 Pew Research survey.

And coverage can be hard to watch even if it isn’t insensitive. While news about violence against Black people is important for communities to know, it can also affect one’s mental health.

This can be a lot to deal with, so some people are trying to change the narrative by adding another emotion to the mix: joy.

This hour, we’re talking to people who are centering Black joy.

We’ll hear from the the owner of a local woodworking business called Black Joy Creations and the founders of a summer camp that is bringing smiles to campers’ faces.

GUESTS:

Special thanks to our interns Vy Duong and Talei Ricketson.

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Kevin Chang Barnum is a producer for Connecticut Public Radio’s weekly show Disrupted. Kevin grew up in Connecticut and started his radio work at his graduate university’s radio station, KUCI. He has also worked for HRN, a network of food and beverage podcasts.
Erica McIntosh is Senior Regional Editor for Southern Connecticut. Erica was born and raised in Connecticut.
Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean is an award-winning scholar at Wesleyan University, author, and host of 'Disrupted' on Connecticut Public.
Robyn Doyon-Aitken is the Deputy Director of Audio Storytelling and Talk Shows
Meg Fitzgerald is the senior manager of projects and radio programming.
Isaac Moss is a Talk Show Production Intern for summer 2025. In her free time, she can be found gardening, cooking, and embarking on epic quests.

Funding provided by:
The Connecticut Office of Film, Television and Digital Media

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