Black Joy
Black joy has always been an act of resistance. Visible and self-defined despite constraint. It’s often policed, commodified, or treated as secondary to struggle. We protect it by making space for it, honoring it without explanation, and refusing to let it be minimized. Help protect it by making space for it, not questioning it, and allowing it to exist without interruption or expectation.
Black Stories
Black joy has always been an act of resistance. Visible and self-defined despite constraint. It’s often policed, commodified, or treated as secondary to struggle. We protect it by making space for it, honoring it without explanation, and refusing to let it be minimized. Help protect it by making space for it, not questioning it, and allowing it to exist without interruption or expectation.
Black History
Black joy has always been an act of resistance. Visible and self-defined despite constraint. It’s often policed, commodified, or treated as secondary to struggle. We protect it by making space for it, honoring it without explanation, and refusing to let it be minimized. Help protect it by making space for it, not questioning it, and allowing it to exist without interruption or expectation.
Black Expression
Black joy has always been an act of resistance. Visible and self-defined despite constraint. It’s often policed, commodified, or treated as secondary to struggle. We protect it by making space for it, honoring it without explanation, and refusing to let it be minimized. Help protect it by making space for it, not questioning it, and allowing it to exist without interruption or expectation.
Black Churches
Black joy has always been an act of resistance. Visible and self-defined despite constraint. It’s often policed, commodified, or treated as secondary to struggle. We protect it by making space for it, honoring it without explanation, and refusing to let it be minimized. Help protect it by making space for it, not questioning it, and allowing it to exist without interruption or expectation.
Protect Our Piece is a living archive disguised as a familiar object. In collaboration with Chicago-based fiber artist Chelsea B., we transformed a couch into a record of what we refuse to lose. Each word stitched into the fabric represents something worth protecting — Black joy, Black history, AAVE, and more.
Meet the Artist Chelsea B.
Chelsea B is a South Side Chicago–born designer and artist working at the intersection of streetwear, fiber arts, and cultural storytelling. She is the founder of House of Chelsea B, a studio known for her signature crochet-driven work that reimagines textiles within contemporary fashion. A SCAD graduate in Surface Design and Textiles with a minor in Fashion Design, her practice blends experimentation, color, and craft into elevated, street-ready pieces.
Her work has been featured through collaborations with Nike Chicago, AF1 anniversary programming, and artists including Flo Milli, Baby Tate, Lucky Daye, Coi Leray, Megan Thee Stallion, and Lizzo. She continues to push crochet into new cultural spaces, expanding its role in fashion and pop culture.
Lived Perspectives
We spoke with Black people across different generations, identities, and experiences, asking one question: what are you choosing to protect? Their responses reflect real-life experiences and show that preservation is a shared, collective effort.
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What we protect isn’t one voice, it's all of ours. We spoke with Black people across different generations, identities, and experiences, asking one core question: what are you choosing to protect? Their answers come from real, lived experience. Together, they show that preservation is something we do collectively.
What we refuse to lose
- Black Joy
- Black Stories
- Black History
- Black Expression
- Black Churches
- Black Leadership
- The Black Vote
- HCBUs
- Black Bodies
- Black Beauty
- Banned Black Books
- Queer Identity
- AAVE
- Juneteenth
- Cultural Artifacts
- Black Media
- The Black Dollar
- Black Resistance
- Black Leaders
- Black-Owned Businesses
- 1619