As a child, Dr. Amena Anderson enjoyed summer visits at her great-grandfather’s home on a coal mining camp in Grant Town, West Virginia.

During the Great Depression, her great-grandfather migrated to West Virginia from Alabama, where he found work in the coal mines and built a life for his family. Though Dr. Anderson’s grandmother left the state and rooted her family in New York, West Virginia has always been their family’s grounding place and ultimately became home for Dr. Anderson.

Following the birth of her oldest son, Dr. Anderson moved to the Mountain State, where she completed her undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees. She has forged a career as an educational leader, working for the Secretary of Arts and Education as well as public and private higher education institutions – including West Virginia University, where she is an assistant professor with an administrative appointment. Dr. Anderson’s work and research focuses on promoting the value of diversity and the importance of equitable and inclusive educational outcomes. A proud Mountain State implant, Dr. Anderson is optimistic about West Virginia’s future.

Tiara Brown is a community development coordinator and independent journalist who lives in Charleston, West Virginia.

“To me, embodying Black joy means being comfortable with my own identity and existence in any space or circumstance,” Tiara said. “I believe I have input that may be valuable to someone who can relate to my life experiences or is open to gaining a new perspective.”

Tiara is a native of Oak Hill, West Virginia. In her life and work, she strives to push back against false narratives about Black West Virginians that are perpetuated by people both inside and outside the state.

“Initiatives like this one, along with events led by Black community members, encourage me in my belief that there is a space for everyone who exists in this state,” Tiara said.

Jaidyn Carter wants to change the conversation. The 22-year-old journalism and musical theater major wants to share stories that are typically overlooked, specifically within the Black community.

She can see herself getting into filmmaking, using it as another outlet to spread joy within the Black community and promote positive imagery and representation in the media.

Born in Charleston, West Virginia, the Jacksonville, Florida, resident chose to be a part of this project to help elevate the experiences Black women have every day.

“These conversations are typically seen as controversial and uncomfortable to have, but so are the experiences that Black women have every day … If we are all collectively experiencing things specifically because we are Black women, then we should be able to talk about that together, and the rest of the world should listen and change,” she says.

At 45 years old, Dr. Octavia Cordon is at the point in her life where she wants to focus on her health and feeling better.

She says she wanted to be involved with this project because she “wanted to be a part of something that speaks for Black women.” The New York City native now calls Charleston, West Virginia her home.

Dr. Cordon says she wishes more people in West Virginia knew the main health issues that Black women face. She finds the Mountain State’s drug epidemic especially heartbreaking, and she wishes more Black West Virginians supported one another. She is, however, encouraged by meeting new people who are making much needed changes.

For Dr. Cordon, Black Joy means “being able to feel comfortable within your skin.” She is an entrepreneur and business owner, and in her free time, she enjoys traveling.

Ilene Evans is a performance artist; instructor of music, dance, and drama; and self-described “Chautauquan.”

She grew up in Detroit and Chicago but now makes her home in West Virginia at the headwaters of the Potomac River.

She believes that damaging stereotypes of Appalachia and a pervasive sense of shame about living in the state contribute to a lack of self-esteem for people who grow up in West Virginia. She remains hopeful, however, that this situation can improve.

“I think there is always hope because people can change and grow,” she said. “There is an abundance of love and light and goodness. We can appeal to each other’s better selves to help that growth happen.”

Crystal Good grew up in St. Albans, West Virginia and now calls Princeton, West Virginia home. A poet and publisher, Crystal founded Black by God: The West Virginian – the state’s only Black-owned news outlet.

“The folklorist in me adores, values, and treasures these types of projects,” she said. For Crystal, Black Joy is “a practice and a discipline of centering things that make you feel good, rather than things that make you feel bad afterward. The people involved in this project are Black Joy thinkers, and I will take every opportunity to be in community with people who center Black Joy.”

In the midst of the intertwined crises of foster care and the opioid epidemic in West Virginia, Crystal finds hope in entrepreneurship. “Resourcing Black business and agriculture is the key that unlocks so much. It creates third spaces and builds community.”

A resident of Morgantown, Anitra Hamilton is a nurse in WVU Medicine’s Bone and Joint Hospital Orthopedic Unit.

An active community member and resident of Morgantown, Anitra Hamilton is a nurse in WVU Medicine’s Bone and Joint Hospital Orthopedic Unit.She is also a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates representing Monongalia County.

“To embody Black Joy means to take the sum total of all your experience and see how it has worked for the greater good for Black women,” she said. “Someone can learn from my experiences and be empowered by the perseverance it takes to confront the many challenges Black women face, yet remain successful and poised with excellence.”

Hamilton has a passion for a more diverse, inclusive, and healthier state. She believes this vision, though currently lost, can be reignited with hope and perseverance.

“This project is important because it gives space for the experiences of Black women that are often overlooked and unheard. It illuminates the journeys we have taken and gives us an opportunity to share with an authentic voice in a safe space of camaraderie.”

A volunteer community organizer, Royce Lyden describes herself as “a grandmother who lives a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle, a coal miner’s daughter, and a first-born, empathic soul.”

Lyden is a Fairmont, West Virginia native and certified rural chaplain. She has worked as a pharmacy technician and a billing specialist. “West Virginians and Appalachians are hardworking and resilient,” Royce said. “We find creative paths to overcome obstacles. We use the obstacles laid before us as stepping stones on our journey to overthrow the oppressor. We are reclaiming our own narrative — the people have the power.”

Royce says that “Black Joy is to celebrate the creativity and diversity of all people.” She calls this project’s collaborative effort to amplify the voices of Black women in West Virginia “a celebration of beautiful souls.”

Kasha Snyder McDonald is the founder of the West Virginia Black Pride Foundation.

As part of that work, she has created the state’s first LGBTQ+ drop-in center, located in Charleston, West Virginia, where she now lives. As part of that work, and in her day-to-day life, she extends love to everyone she meets.

Kasha hails from Ashland, Kentucky, and is a transgender woman who is a frequent entertainer in the Mountain State’s LGBTQ+ community.

“It’s crucial for every Black woman to understand the experience of Black transgender women, to recognize our struggles, and to see that our fight is no different from that of Black cisgender women,” she said in a call for unity. “We must come together in sisterhood to protect all our sisters, especially our Black trans sisters and brothers.” “Black Joy, to me, is being surrounded by my people, treated with the same respect and kindness that’s extended to everyone else,” Kasha said. “In my vision of utopia, Black Joy means everyone in our community loving each other for who we are, without judgment.”

Dr. Florita Montgomery grew up in Alabama, Michigan and Ohio amid the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.

She earned her bachelor’s degree at Youngstown State University and eventually settled in Morgantown, West Virginia, where she completed master’s and doctoral degrees at West Virginia University.

Montgomery devoted her career to education and outreach – working for WVU Extension for 34 years until she retired as Professor Emerita in 2012. A life member of international public service organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she remains committed to challenging disinformation, sexism and racism through education and activism.

Camryn Pressley has much love and hope for her home state, but like many West Virginia natives she felt she had to make the difficult decision to leave the comfort of its close-knit communities due to its uncertain future.

Graduating with bachelor’s degrees in international studies and Spanish and a master’s degree in public administration from West Virginia University, she is now enrolled in the Creighton University School of Law.

Having felt uncomfortable when she should have been able to fully experience joy, Camryn carries with her the understanding of the struggles of being a Black woman in Appalachia as she continues her journey of advocacy and works to change the future for those who look like her.

For West Virginia native Freda Reaves, living “in the middle of nowhere with a lot of horses, chickens, and dogs” would be living the dream.

Well, that and becoming a dentist and farmer. Beyond that, Freda also has a dream for her home state, hoping that one day it can have a more inclusive community and a more diverse and inclusive government.

Freda, an 11th grade student who attends Capital High School in Charleston, was excited to be a part of this project, noting the challenges West Virginia faces in its lack of diversity and general lack of togetherness in the community. She recognizes that spreading awareness about how Black women live in West Virginia is important.

A native of Alma, West Virginia, Oceanna Smith lives in Wheeling and is a youth organizer with the ACLU of West Virginia.

She considers herself a jack of all trades and loves to create art in all its forms.

Smith says this project is important because “Black women are so often doing the hardest work with the least recognition.” “Making space to see us and hear us is not only healing for us but for every community,” she said.

She draws a distinction between joy, in the general sense, and Black Joy in particular. “Black joy is resilient, elevated, and identity-centered,” she said. “I feel Black Joy when I give myself permission to celebrate my existence, because it is divine.”

Dr. Shanequa Smith arrived in West Virginia from Harlem more than two decades ago. Since then, she’s noted that the two areas have more in common than you think, and that is the systemic oppression of Black populations.

She became a restorative justice practitioner “to spread joy, education and connect people to desired opportunities.” Dr. Smith explains, “People can’t be what they don’t know. I believe there’s a light in us, collectively, that can let us overcome a lack of exposure and education for Black individuals.”

She associates three words with Black Joy: food, fellowship, and friendship.

Jennifer Wells is a Southern girl at her roots – born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, building her career in Huntington, West Virginia, and now making her home in Montgomery, Alabama.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Jennifer moved to the Mountain State where she completed higher education in social work and practiced in the field for nearly two decades.

Now living in Alabama, Jennifer is still enthusiastically pursuing joy for Black Americans as the Director of Economic Justice at Community Change/Community Change Action, a national organization that builds the power and capacity of low-income people to change the policies and institutions that impact their lives.

As a young Black woman living in Charleston, West Virginia, Myya Williams says she feels safe in her home state, and she is encouraged by the kindness of its residents.

The 16-year-old high school student enjoys playing softball and connecting with her Xinos sorority sisters. The national group, which provides guidance in academic, moral and social values, is one way Myya engages with culturally enriching experiences.

West Virginia’s predominantly white population means Myya must often look beyond its borders to see someone who looks like her. It’s through those connections, both near and far, that she finds Black Joy – in cultural inspiration and seeing Black women embracing their natural beauty.

For nearly 30 years, A. Toni Young has been a dedicated advocate and researcher in public health, focusing on HIV/AIDS and marginalized populations.

Her work encompasses mobilizing communities, managing organizations, and fostering partnerships to address health challenges.

Toni’s influential studies have examined HIV vulnerability among Black women with incarcerated partners, contextual factors affecting HIV prevention in African American women, and optimizing HIV testing strategies. Toni emphasizes the meaningful involvement of people living with HIV in research and highlights the importance of diversity and inclusion in HIV cure studies.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Toni now resides in Lost City, West Virginia.