Juneteenth and the Pleasure of US

Black Joy is not a side note. It is the main event.

We talk a lot in this space about pleasure between two people. The intimacy of touch, the vulnerability of desire, the closeness that builds in a relationship. But this Juneteenth reminded me of something I do not say enough that pleasure also lives in the room full of our people. In the music. In the laughter. In the simple, electric feeling of being surrounded by Blackness that is fully unbothered and fully free.

That is its own kind of intimacy. Non-romantic, completely communal, and just as real as anything that happens between two people behind closed doors.

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I used my VIP ticket to spend Juneteenth at the High Museum here in ATL, specifically for the Amy Sherald exhibit, and the day turned into something so much fuller than I expected. My friend and I took a Lyft over and got there for early entry, where the Juneteenth festivities were already in full swing. The second I walked through the door, the music hit me. And it was not background noise. It was the centerpiece. You could feel the culture in the room before you even saw a single piece of art.

People were dressed in everything from African prints to their own personal fashion statements, whether it was considered in style or not, and it was beautiful precisely because of that freedom. Nobody was performing for anybody. People were just being themselves, fully joyfully, out loud.

We wandered through the museum while the first band played, and they closed their set with "Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud." I don't think I need to explain to you what that did to the room. You already know.

A room full of unbothered Black Joy is one of the most pleasurable things I have ever experienced. And nobody had to take their clothes off for it to be intimate. ~Velvet Lenae

My friend and I broke away to get something to eat, sat, talked, laughed, the kind of convo that does not need an agenda. Then we made our way back to the museum a little early and caught a jazz band, as we watched from the fourth level. Beautiful singers layered over beautiful instrumentation. The kind of sound that makes you walk a little slower just so you can stay in it longer.

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Then it was time for the Amy Sherald exhibit, and we got there at 7:05p, slightly later than I wanted, because I hate being late. I had read that latecomers would not be let in, so I was a little anxious. Thankfully, they let us through.

As we signed in, we received a rolled print as part of the VIP experience, which I believe is her recent portrait of Michelle Obama, the painting that brought her even more notoriety. I have not unrolled it yet. I am almost savoring the anticipation of seeing it fully framed in my home.

The exhibit itself left my heart smiling in the best way. Amy Sherald paints Black Americans in photorealistic detail, capturing the fullness of how we live, and yet she renders our skin grayscale rather than our actual hues. I expected that choice to feel like something was missing. Instead, it made everything else pop even more. The clothing, the jewelry, the settings, the expressions, the small details, all of it became louder and more vivid because of her grayscale choice.

I'm an avid collector of Black art from Black artists. My home is full of it. And after walking through that exhibit, I already know I will be adding some of her prints to my collection soon. There were so many pieces I wanted to take home with me right then and there.

At the end of the exhibit, there was a documentary playing that gave insight into her childhood, her journey as an artist, and where she stands today. I sat and watched the whole thing. Watching a Black Woman build that kind of legacy, on her own terms, in her own visual language, felt like its own form of Juneteenth.

Sweet • Raw • Sticky

Sweet is the warmth of being surrounded by your people, fully celebrated and fully free. Raw is the honesty of Black art that does not flinch from showing us exactly as we are, even in grayscale. Sticky is the feeling that stays with you long after you leave the museum, the kind of joy that lingers in your body for days.

We got drinks, explored more of the museum, made our way back to the music on the other side, and went up to the fourth floor one more time before we had to leave. It was a full day that moved straight into evening, and not one part of it felt rushed or performative. It just felt like Us. Fully, unapologetically Us.

This is the kind of pleasure I want more people to recognize and claim for themselves. Community is not separate from intimacy. Joy shared with your people, in a room full of music and art and culture, is it's own sensual experience. It moves through your body the same way connection does. It lingers the same way desire does. And it absolutely deserves a place in how we talk about pleasure.

Celebrating each other is not a break from intimacy. It is one of its purest forms. ~Sweet • Raw • Sticky

I love Us y'all. I genuinely do. We are beautiful and talented and endlessly creative, and as the BLACKprint, We NEVER miss. Keep shining, my Black people. I will continue to support and celebrate Us every single day, not just on the holidays built for it.

As Issa Rae said, "I'm rooting for everybody Black." Same here. Always.

Happy Juneteenth. May the joy stay sticky long after the day ends.

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2 Comments

Jul 8, 2026, 9:03:32 PM

Velvet Berry - Always a vibe hanging with you!

Jul 8, 2026, 6:56:43 PM

Palesa - Velvet that was such a laid back but very fun day! Everywhere we turned there was different bold variations of attires of people, the energy of those that we encountered was positive and happy, the ART!! Baby there was so many variety of emotions that they invoked. The Amy Sherald exhibit was the chef’s kiss though. The one that stuck out the most for me was “the call me red bone, but I prefer strawberry shortcake”. It was an overall high vibrational and amazing day hanging with you :-)

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