Black Joy, Understanding Resistance, and our Love for Andre Henry
TNQrew Update: It's been a week. But as those who live the fight for justice, we understand the long game.
TNQrew,
We won’t extemporize here about the recent events. We all know. The work of TNQ is to deepen the conversation past the 101 questions and to provide real perspective to help us reimagine how expansive justice can be. Resistance, like we’ve seen across the country, awakening like we’ve seen across the country is to be celebrated. But it is a beginning.
The long game is a systematic reorganization of what we value and prioritize. And this will take time and endurance. In this week’s TNQ Update, we focus on the tools for the long-game and educational resources for those wishing to go deeper.
Black Joy
Illustration by Melissa Koby
One of the many toxic results of anti-Blackness in America is that for many citizens their primary visual for Black men and women is one of suffering. Our please for justice for our sons and daughters go viral, the videos of our bodies underfoot get shared again and again. But the story of Blackness in America is so much beyond all of that. It is full of dance and music and art and love and sex and celebration. Here are some samples of a universe of Black Joy to help cleanse our palettes and awaken our dreams of the possible:
Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond Special Edition Verzuz - The Healing: Verzuz reimagines the DJ battles of hip-hop's early days for the “one gotta go” set. This week pitted Gospel powerhouses Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond in a celebration of the music that has healed us for a generation. If you’re not watching Verzuz, what are you doing?
Jasmine Guillory Cooks - If you haven’t read Jasmine’s get-lost-in novels, solve that problem first. But if you love Jasmine as we do, and if you’ve seen her TNQ episode, you know she KILLS in the kitchen. She made a quarantine lasagna that will make you want to change religions. Get it all HERE.
Black Artists - We’ll be featuring more and more black artists on our Instagram page, celebrating their incredible talents. Here are a few you can enjoy in advance:
Andre Henry and the Power to the People
Many of you know the incredible insight of Andre Henry. An artist, a leader, and a student of revolutions throughout history, Andre took us to SCHOOL on season one of TNQ. His episodes are critical to understanding the long-game of systemic justice. You can watch them here.
Make sure you’re a paid subscriber to TNQ Crew before tomorrow, as we’ll be dropping some behind the scenes from our own Jenny Booth Potter on what it was like the day Andre was on set.
One Last Thing…
Have you headed over to TNQ Merch? We are raising money for Season 2 and have some pretty awesome swag for you to pick up as well. Put your order in today!