Black Boy Joy

Jay texts his best friend, Mia, asking her to help him find his mascot head, which has gone missing. She comes into the boy’s locker room before the basketball game and finds a panicked Jay. Moments later, a new student named Will comes in holding the mascot head. He introduces himself as Jay explains that his costume is supposed to be a pickle. Will and Mia seem to click instantly, and soon they are exchanging numbers. Jay feels blindsided and jealous, even though he always thought of Mia as just his friend. Jay and Mia have always done everything together, and now everything is changing.

Deciding to put his friend first, Jay encourages Will to ask Mia out, and Will does so. Jay ends up asking another girl, Jasmine, and has a great time with her. As Jay dances with Jasmine and Mia dances with Will, they look at each other, and Mia mouths the words, “I’d walk over hot coals for you” (262). Jay asks her to save him a dance, and that’s exactly what she does.

When Percival and his family move to the United States from Trinidad, Percival is followed by a Jab, or devil, who clings to him and goes with him everywhere. The Jab also complains often and is very needy, always wanting food or attention. It nags Percival about forgetting his home and becoming Americanized, and Percival tries to ignore it. When Percival goes to meet the principal of his new school, the Jab accompanies him and sneers as the principal asks Percival if he can do basic things like recite the alphabet or read.

One day while walking through the apartment complex, a woman named Miss Marabella notices Percival’s Jab. So far, nobody else has been able to see it, so Percival finds the woman intriguing. He goes into her home, where she feeds him lots of sweets and explains that she left Trinidad because she did not like her boss.

On the day of Percival’s sister’s third birthday, the Jab interferes with the party and puts all the adults under a spell. They start covering themselves and the room in all sorts of messes, and Percival has to intervene to stop it. He yells at the Jab to leave, but it just retreats into the closet instead. Later, Miss Marabella gives Percival a type of sweet called toolum, which she says he should feed to the Jab. Percival does this, and the Jab spends days consuming the toolum, getting thinner by the hour. Percival starts to feel bad for the Jab or like he is losing a part of himself. He wakes up in the night to Miss Marabella standing over him. She transforms into her true form, which is that of a fire demon called a soucouyant. She tries to attack Percival, but the Jab defends and saves him. The Jab spits out the toolum and fights Miss Marabella, and Percival calls on her boss, a head devil named Bazil. Bazil appears, and Percival tells him that Miss Marabella left Trinidad without his knowledge. Bazil sends Miss Marabella back to where she belongs and fixes the carnage in Percival’s room before he leaves.

Days later, Percival goes to the carnival with his parents. There, he meets a girl named Cheryl, who has a spirit creature called a Moko Jumbie with her. Cheryl then introduces Percival to several other children, each from a different country and each with their own spirit creature. She explains that they are a large group of friends who defend the city from monsters and asks Percival if he would like to join them.

In a short comic, Jerry Craft portrays the power and significance of Black boy joy. He expresses the importance of representing Black families in a positive light and explains that Black boys feel every emotion from anger to joy. He notes the importance of creating Black stories of one’s own and of sharing joy with loved ones. Craft also speaks to the power of overcoming stereotypes. The illustrations show a montage of smiling faces, each loving one another and standing strong together.

Fort and Gary the Griot have filled their jar of joy and enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done. Gary explains that he is planning to retire and wants to pass on the duty of collecting joy to Fort. Fort is honored and accepts the task, though he finds it daunting and somewhat scary. A door appears, and Fort steps through it with the jar, back into his world and in front of his church. He looks at his mother, who is about to give birth to Fort’s new sibling. Gary the Griot tells Fort that a newborn baby needs lots of joy and encourages him to use the jar for that purpose. Although Aunt Netta is gone, new life is just around the corner, and Fort is filled with a sense of responsibility to care for it.