By Deron Dalton
Black Lives Matter has pushed the national conversation on race—but the trauma and pain behind the fight against systemic racism can weigh heavily on black organizers and the communities they serve.
This was the case for Kleaver Cruz, a 27-year-old writer and community organizer at Black Lives Matter: NYC. A few days after Thanksgiving, he woke up deeply saddened, physically unable to move.
“I began to realize being black in this country, being part of certain actions, just being in this conversation of what the state of being black in this country and in the world—what it means to me personally—it was just really weighing on me,” Cruz told the Daily Dot
Cruz found the remedy to his sadness after taking a photo of his mother smiling and enjoying a piece of art. He loved the picture so much that he posted it on Facebook—with more joyous photos of black people smiling to follow.
Soon after, he formalized a social media campaign called #TheBlackJoyProject on Instagram.
Read more via The Daily Dot.