Is it ever possible to encapsulate the wonders of all that is Black and joyful?

I pull out the 6×3 frame and peer through the glass to the souls, the art, the history, the future, the beauty, the boldness, the blackness that sits parallel to the lens

I capture these Black moments in time

Honey-toned laughter. Shining smiles. Crystallized coils and curls. Bodacious braids. Dazzling declarations. Fire fits. Divine dark skin. Melanated magic. 

These pixelated portraits portray the diaspora of joy that encompasses our diaspora of blackness. However it is never enough. It can never be enough. These images are full of joy but never full.

There is so much more to these experiences, to these identities, to these slivers of time, to these spaces we occupy, to the creations we birth, to the stories we fill, the stories we tell, than I can fit in my 6×3 frame.

I will continue to capture these moments that outstretch the frame far more than viewers may notice. Even if it is only a piece of things Black and joyful, any scale of those moments deserve to be shared. Earned to be shared. Worked to be shared.

To be Black, to have joy, to practice resilience were once magnetic north poles trying to connect. Now there is the opportunity to have such an overflowing abundance that there isn’t enough room in our frames to even begin to fit it all.

Let it be known that the Black experience, the Black identity and Black joy are intricate, intimate and impactful works of art. 

Let us continue to capture Black joy, draw Black joy, write Black joy, see Black joy and live Black joy. 

Let us acknowledge the pages, screens and frames can never truly encapsulate it all, however they magically hold and solidify the snippets and puzzle pieces of all that is Black and joyful.