The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.

These lyrics from a Black spiritual/gospel song celebrate the “divine” joy from God within received by the enslaved. The joy experienced and expressed by the enslaved was innate and spiritual. Joy was manifested as spiritual energy and spiritual strength that fostered endurance and resilience.

The joy of the enslaved has been called and written about as an act of resistance; however, this joy was not related to the relationship with white slaveowners or the circumstances of enslavement. The joy of the enslaved was derived from two sources: spirituality and the love and interrelatedness of community. Unlike happiness, which can be fleeting and dependent upon outer circumstances. Joy for the enslaved was more than an emotion; it was a divine gift based upon African spirituality. Joy, an aspect of African Traditional Religion (ATR), was a powerful rejection of the inhuman identity and conditions under which the enslaved were forced to live.

African joy grounded in spirituality reflects a way of living in harmony with God (the spiritual energy within), the deities, the ancestors, and the spirits in nature. The faith of the enslaved provided them with joy; communication with and guidance from the ancestors provided both hope and joy. Communing with the spirits in nature also provided joy. The healer could be filled with immense joy when drawn to and communicating with a plant or herb that provided a cure for an ailment. Simply being in and feeling the spirit of nature provided joy for the enslaved. The connection with nature also provided the direction and means for successful running away from the plantation and homes for maroon communities.

The joy of the enslaved was communal, a collective state, expressing “Ubuntu,” I am because we are. Joy was derived and expressed through “belonging”, community ties and bonds, communal solidarity, mutual support, shared burdens, and “collective healing.”

Sharing was a major source of joy for the enslaved. Joy was sharing love, kinship, and living in harmony with others in the quarters or community. The love of family was critical to experiencing joy; family was created not only by blood but by fictive relationships, members of the community, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins. The enslaved shared meals, even the pig taken from the master was shared, as well as labor, care for those who had been brutally punished.

Joy for the enslaved was induced through music, dance, and singing. Through each vehicle, the enslaved could make connections with the deities and ancestors, all connections to the Divine.

In the enslaved community, traditional African rituals preserved the heritage and provided joy. The celebration of births, naming ceremonies, and other milestones provided joy. The collective pride of a successful runaway provided joy for the community.

The oral tradition of Africans, and especially storytelling, provided a joy derived from collective memory. Storytellers provided joy by celebrating the African identity, despite different ethnicities, and preserved the history of African heritage. The sense of African identity and belonging provided an innate sense of joy. Joy for the enslaved was also derived from proverbs and folktales, especially trickster tales in which the powerless outsmarted the powerful.

Fun was a sacred expression of joy for the enslaved. What appeared to the overseer and slaveholder as savages irresponsibly having fun while they should be resting in preparation for the next day’s work much deeper meaning for the enslaved. The music, dancing, and singing were actively connecting with the deities and the ancestors, a joy that only the enslaved could experience and express. Having fun was a powerful spiritual practice for the enslaved that was a healing energy that uplifted and a reminder of their spiritual connection.

Ultimately, joy was the power within the enslaved to be true to their African identity, to provide rest for the weary body, to heal the mind, and spirit. Yes, the enslaved were treated savagely, and their humanity denied; however, they possessed a power that could not be diminished. A powerful tool possessed by the enslaved was the ability to know and keep their true identities to themselves, to not reveal to the master the role of spirituality and community in their lives, and to allow the master to falsely believe in their inhumanity.

When we read about or think about the enslaved, we most often only relate to their condition of victimization; however, the untold and untaught history of the enslaved provides a true narrative of their hidden power. The enslaved possessed the ability to adapt, to overcome, to employ “superior” forms of agency. Joy experienced and expressed by the enslaved through their spirituality and collective spirit was a powerful resource for the resilience that was transmitted from generation to generation.