Sojourner Truth School for Social Change Leadership

What if joy itself is revolutionary? This class explores the long history of dance, music, and celebration as acts of resistance, from enslaved Africans who turned clandestine gatherings into sites of liberation, to the Black queer ballroom scenes that reimagined freedom through movement and style. Drawing on the work of Audre Lorde, José Esteban Muñoz, and Robin D.G. Kelley, we will examine how joy, pleasure, and imagination function as radical tools for survival and social change. Together, we will also consider how fascist regimes, past and present, have sought to suppress nightlife, queerness, and collective joy, creating what some call a “party pandemic.” Through discussion and reflection, we will explore how dancing, celebrating, and coming together can resist isolation, reclaim the body, and keep the pulse of revolution alive.