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Interviewee: Kleaver Cruz

Interviewer: Anthony Rosado

Summary by Emma Garr

November 18, 2025

“What does Black joy mean to you?” Writer, educator, and thinker Kleaver Cruz asks of us during this illuminating interview conducted by Anthony Rosado of the Bronx African American History Project. A Bronxite since the age of three, Cruz first lived off 175th Street and Townsend Avenue, a neighborhood off the Jerome Corridor; now famously a hotspot of gentrification and rezoning. These controversial developments, they account, have arisen in juxtaposition to the neighborhood of their childhood, which was “off the heels of the crack era” [(06:17)]. Living across the street from a bar situated between gang neighborhoods, fights were a common occurrence.

For young Cruz, memories of the neighborhood were just as beautiful as they were startling. When asked about figures of inspiration in early life, a response was not hard to find. The first fond thought is of their elementary school principal at P.S. 70, The Max Showenfeld School, Mrs. Simon. They remember reciting the Black National Anthem each morning, something the students assume is completely ordinary. Mrs. Simon and the teachers at P.S. 70 created for Cruz “a foundation that’s something to return to” [(12:21)], which underscores an important theme in their work as a writer and educator.  

Community is a clear focus for Cruz. Early conceptions of belonging, including their elementary school experience, guide their work. An attempted return to this benign sense of self was Cruz’s research, referred to as The Black Joy Project (TBJP), which followed a period of their personal depression. In 2015, TBJP formally began with a daily Instagram post and a short explanation of “Black joy,” or anything that would uplift the community around Black identity. Eight years later, in 2023, these experiences and artistic findings would coalesce into the book, The Black Joy Project (2023). This revolutionary read is colloquially known by Cruz as the “how to feel better project” [(25:16)]. 

Maintaining both academic eloquence and emotional vulnerability, Cruz transitions to discussing their own identity. Exploring and questioning labels through Cruz’s book and their childhood experiences in a multiethnic Bronx neighborhood, Cruz develops a complex relationship with words. The two follow a tangent about the category “Latino,” both rejecting the term and preferring to replace it with one that Cruz had come across. The term “Amefricano” encapsulates the both/and identity of many minorities, one of disparate roots in African, Caribbean, and native peoples across the Americas, for a more distinctive and less exclusionary identifier. Bringing into focus the uniqueness of identity in this etymological context prevents many exclusions and generalizations that divide communities. Simple labels carry a conscience that can both bring others together or drive them apart.

For Cruz, the Bronx is most often understood as a place of community. Here, identities coexist, which makes The Bronx a borough ripe for solidarity. It will always, for Cruz, possess an indelible spirit and still greater potential for people to come together. Following this reasoning, they describe the Bronx–the borough they still reside in–as “the last frontier, for all the true New Yorkers” [(01:04:40)]. Here, in spaces where one’s roots are a source of joy, community and liberation can flourish. 

More than a book and more than a commodity, Black joy is “really…about liberation” [(55:33)]. Cruz ends their interview ecstatic about this liberation, confidently claiming that freedom from systems which simplify identity and drive others apart is not only possible but guaranteed. Kleaver Cruz is precocious, in high spirits, and ready to provide people, Bronx communities, and otherwise with what they need to be well. 

Disciplines

African American Studies | African History | Black History | Latin American History | Latina/o Studies | Public History | Puerto Rican Studies | United States History

Abstract

Interviewee: Kleaver Cruz

Interviewer: Anthony Rosado

Summary by Serena Velasquez

November 18, 2025

Kleaver Cruz, a Bronx native, acknowledges the legacy of “Las Mariposas,” martyrs from the Dominican Republic who opposed Trujillo, setting the tone for this event’s influence on their family’s migration stories and cultural connectivity. Having lived their whole lives in the Bronx, Cruz’s Afro-Latin identity and community became integral to their activism. Having grown up during the 90s, Cruz touches on economic hardships and living through the crack epidemic, yet asserts that they had a great childhood despite these circumstances. Cruz was influenced by figures throughout their educational journey, especially African-American women educators. The foundation of their elementary school, PS70, with Miss Fields, provided a point of return for their fearlessness and confidence. It was also a time when they had their first spiritual experience, showing this time of guidance. This time normalized the idea of pursuing their dreams and expressing themselves.

Building on an initiative in 2015 and on all their encompassing experiences of literary expression and Afro-Latin identity, Cruz published The Black Joy Project to promote healing and community through the celebration of black joy. With this, Cruz expresses the complexities of racial and cultural identity along with the profound importance of universal connections. This documented, transformative moment in their lives promotes the advocacy of marginalized groups and also a commitment to artistic solidarity. To remember joy is to rise against the impact of historical violence and gentrification in the Bronx, along with the risk of commodifying movements such as Black joy. It innately signals a collective, a window into gaining the context of the Black experience and the community that is instilled with joy. With this, Cruz declares the necessity of maintaining authenticity and depth in a world of systemic challenges, oppression, and historical erasure.

Words are very powerful and important, exemplifying Cruz’s critique of the label of “Latinidad,” which not only diminishes preexisting frameworks and limits identity to speaking solely Spanish but also fails to capture the depth and complexities of Afro-Latin identities. With their experience in Brazil, Cruz touches on the importance of creating one’s own words and language to express one’s true existence, free of colonialism and historical injustice. This complexity parallels their experience living in New York City, specifically the Bronx. Cruz truly underscores the importance of understanding the historical context of Black identity, which, in turn, promotes the creation of a futurescape where Black joy can thrive, be empowered, and be preserved. Cruz’s initiative is about liberation, permanence, and revolution within an identity that succumbs to transience. Cruz unapologetically centers their experience in order to empower Black queerness and fems, as these were the communities that helped them understand and create joy.

LINK TO VIDEO RECORDING: http://cdm17265.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/baahp/id/128

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