Lift Every Voice and Sing, Pt. 1: Jasmine & Amma!
PLUS A BOOK GIVEAWAY
Hello, Dames Nationals! We’re doing something special this week. In honor of Juneteenth, we are bringing you a trio of issues about to Black joy!
Which frequently coexists with Black excellence
Tonight, you will hear a little from me, Dame Margaret, sharing some of my favorite art on the subject, but then I’m passing the mic to a few of the Black writers who’ve guest-edited TBD over the years* so they can talk about some of their favorites. Tonight’s joy comes from Jasmine Guillory and Amma Marfo, Saturday will feature picks from Cate Young and Ianthe Metzger, and Sunday will be Samantha Powell and Kelly Davis Daroe.
*(the ones who were generous enough to make time to contribute on woefully short notice)
Margaret’s Quick Hits
Like, should this even be… physically possible?
My first pick: the Nicholas Brothers in what is, indisputably, the best dance number in all of cinema: “Jumpin’ Jive” from the 1943 musical Stormy Weather
Living Single, the 90s sitcom about a group of hilariously mismatched girlfriends that you should be rewatching instead of Sex and the City for the umpteenth time.
The Show of Delights, longtime favorite Bim Adewunmi’s first episode as lead producer on This American Life, which almost directly inspired this email.
The incredible crowd-sourced playlist dedicated to Black joy that my Instagram followers helped me build this week.
And, of course, Jasmine Guillory’s absolutely delightful series of romance novels to which a fifth novel is going to be added THIS COMING TUESDAY!
On That Subject: Win a copy of Jasmine Guillory’s Party of Two!
A pair of sisters as iconic as Alexa (lead of The Wedding Date) and her big sister Olivia (whose love story we finally get in Party of Two)
Party of Two follows ace lawyer Olivia Monroe as she very tentatively falls in love with someone she’d never imagined herself with: Max Powell, a hot shot junior Senator. If this sounds to you as delightful as it does to me (and Roxane Gay), just pop your email into our Handy Dandy Google Form by the end of the day this coming Thursday and could win a copy just in time to have the perfect the 4th of July weekend reading. And with that, let’s jump to Jasmine for her joy!
Jasmine Guillory’s Insta Fave
Repeat guest editor Jasmine first edited for us in January, 2018and most recently in June, 2019
I've always loved makeup, but for a very long time, it was clear that makeup didn't love me back. Oh yes, bright lipsticks have always looked good on me, but most makeup companies, beauty brands, and fashion and beauty magazines pretended that I, and people of my skin color, didn't exist. One of the only letters to an editor I've ever written was to a beauty magazine when I was a teenager, about one of their spreads for "all skin colors" where the darkest skin color was "olive." This is one of the many reasons why I love following Black makeup artist Delina Medhin on Instagram so much. She loves makeup in the same way I always have, and she glories in making up her Black skin and the Black and brown skin of her clients. It's so fun to see her pictures, watch her stories, see the wide variety of makeup that is not available to people with my skin color, and see all of the other colors and techniques that do actually look good on people like me, I just never knew it for years because magazines and beauty brands wouldn't show me. And she delights in it, has so much fun in it, and it's always a tiny burst of joy in my day to watch her. And oh boy, do I need that joy these days.
Amma Marfo’s Joyful TV Recs
Amma guest edited in December 2017with her friends and podcast collaborators Becca Fick Altimier, Mallory Bower, and Sue Caulfield.
Dame Margaret co-signs Amma’s Tuca and Bertie rec so hard.
I have to shout about IFC’s Sherman’s Showcase. It’s available on Hulu (and they have a Black History Month special airing tonight), and is just so much fun. In addition to being a pitch-perfect parody of shows like Soul Train, it also gives so many comedians that I’ve loved for years (Bresha Webb! Tawny Newsome! Langston Kerman! Will Miles! Rob Haze!) the opportunity to shine.
Tuca and Bertie: mercifully just renewed for season 2 by Adult Swim, I love it for presenting an unequivocally joyful Black lead in Tuca, acknowledging that she had trauma but not letting it swallow her character as most other shows would have.
Craig of the Creek’s “Cousin of the Creek”: I am a BIG cartoon lover, and this may be the Blackest episode of a cartoon I’ve ever seen. Cartoon Network has given the carefree Black boy joy that I need to see, and that ALL Black boys should be able to live without fear. In this ep, a family reunion of sorts comes together in a way that feels so familiar and comforting.
Comedy Central’s gone-too-soon Detroiters, which I described to friends as “Broad City for boys”, features one of my very favorite episodes of TV ever, “Happy Birthday Mr. Duvet!” For many of the same reasons I love the ep of Craig of the Creek I picked, it captures some of the joyful trappings of being part of a Black family - and was written by Late Night writer and delightful human Amber Ruffin. It’s available on their app, and can be purchased on Amazon Prime.
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And Kevin Garnett’s moment of ultimate triumph
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