In your president’s favorite book of the Bible, Two Corinthians, these words appear: “We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” In shorter form, the Black Church would say, “Joy—the world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away.” Maintaining the capacity for joy is critical to the struggle for justice. Things are still as fucked up at the end of this book as they were at the beginning. But we can’t let the messed-up state of the world steal our joy. It is critical in
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