Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015-2022) Paperback – July 6, 2025

Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015–2022)is a stunning, full-color photo book that celebrates the richness of Black culture, community, and resistance through the lens of a beloved Philadelphia tradition.Spanning seven years of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown, this volume is more than a documentation—it’s a declaration. Photographer and author Tieshka K. Smith brings a decade of intimate connection with the festival to life through vivid photographs and deeply personal reflections that honor Black families, joyful celebration, cultural commerce, and grassroots activism.Created to mark her 10th year as the festival’s official photographer, this paperback edition captures the evolution of the event and the heartbeat of a community that continues to gather, resist, and rejoice. Portions of the work were first exhibited at the Germantown Historical Society, where the images sparked powerful conversations about Black joy, memory, and place.Each image is a composition of pride, power, and presence—offering readers a front-row seat to the beauty and complexity of Black joy. Paired with storytelling that bridges historical memory and contemporary truth, this book is both a tribute and a testament: to the festival, to the community that sustains it, and to the generations who make freedom an everyday practice.Whether you are an art lover, a cultural historian, or someone seeking a visual love letter to Black Philadelphia, Compositions of Black Joy invites you to see—and celebrate—Blackness in full color. Read more