BIO

I am a sophomore at Florida State University, majoring in psychology and completing my minor in general business. I am currently apart of "The Omnipresence of Black Joy” research project under research mentor Mrs. Chris Omni, MPH. This project was centered around the pillars of Black Joy is a Statement, Stride, Permission, Pride, a form of Resistance, and a form of Rest. Within this project we created a survey distributed to Black FSU students and organizations, and created a website centered around Black Joy. I hope to continue this collaboration in future projects during my time as an undergraduate student. After concluding my bachelor's degree, I would like to complete my master's in business and go on to work in the field of psychology and business.

The Omnipresence of Black Joy

Abstract

Often in the media and the news, Black people are painted in a negative light. This research project aims to redefine these negative stereotypes and offer positive narratives that are associated with Black people and Black joy. To redefine the understanding of the Black experience, the researchers of this project first used the cumulative knowledge from academic based literature reviews to create a website that disseminates research and stories of Black Joy. While using the Kujima Theory of Collective Self-Motivation, this platform plans to include surveys completed by Black students at Florida State University to better understand what Black Joy means to them. Finally, by synthesizing information from academic literature, people's lived experiences, music, and the previously mentioned surveys, this project will be used to inform the development of a new curriculum used in public universities. This curriculum will be focused on Black Joy as a path to physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. The research method for this project is ongoing, as the researchers continue to gather academic literature and garner responses to their survey.

Keywords: Black Joy, Omnipresence