Newsletter

Black Joy with Professor Todd Franklin

By Eva Jo McIlraith

February 25, 2026

Professor Todd Franklin, distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Africana Studies, joined the Days-Massolo Multicultural Center’s biweekly Lammah Community Dinner this week for a fascinating lecture and discussion on Black Joy. Following BLSU’s event on the same topic, Professor Franklin lent his own research on the existential, social, and political implications of various critical and transformative discourses of race. Professor Franklin began the evening with a question of what it means to practice “being yourself in totality,” encouraging attendees to reflect on their own experiences with belonging. He questioned the difference between happiness and joy, prompting listeners to recognize the differences in temporal permanence and source. “The idea is not always to be happy, but to be socially located where you can affirm and be affirmed,” Franklin posited. 

Franklin pressed attendees to find this joy in community, seeking out belonging in connection. “No one becomes coherent in isolation,” he continued, “one can be oneself along with others who are themself.” As evidence of this, Professor Franklin featured a scene of communal dance from a movie adaptation displaying genuine and animated Black Joy. Attendees discussed how it demonstrated parallels to uninhibited joy experienced in real life. Professor Franklin closed the evening with a reminder to students that “together, you are more than what you would face on your own.”

It was an honor to host Professor Franklin in the DMC and learn about his incredible research and experience. Given the magnitude and depth of his academic exploration and experiences, he was an invaluable wealth of information with which to learn and grow from. His recognition of the importance of Black joy amidst oppression and struggle sparked joyful resistance and powerful community connection.