--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is the thing that brought the Black…" description: "\"That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we've faced historically. It's the ability to love and laugh a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg" --- # That is the thing that brought the Black community through… ![“That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we've faced historically. It's the ability to love and laugh and experience joy still in so many ways.” quote by KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg) > “That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we've faced historically. It's the ability to love and laugh and experience joy still in so many ways.” [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love, laughter, and joy act as coping mechanisms that help the Black community endure historical hardships. **In simple terms:** Joy and humor help survive adversity. Key Takeaway Cultivate joy and humor amid challenges. Themes community resilience joy humor Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational cultural When to use this quote - family gatherings - community events - mental health initiatives - educational programs Key Concepts cultural healing collective strength emotional wellbeing Questions to Reflect On - How can humor be used responsibly? - What practices foster lasting joy? A Different Perspective Joy alone cannot erase systemic oppression; structural change is also required. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability to love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-love/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-community/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Hardships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-hardships-5337256/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Experience Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-joy/) [Historically Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historically-ability-5337255/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-laugh/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The black community is under attack in so many different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/the-black-community-is-under-attack-in-so-many-different-ways/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [May you always experience the joy that comes from putting Christ at the centre of your lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/may-you-always-experience-the-joy-that-comes-from-putting-christ-at/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [We won't fully experience joy until we've answered life's biggest question: Why am I here?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/we-won-t-fully-experience-joy-until-we-ve-answered-life-s-biggest/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [There is only one blasphemy, and that is the refusal to experience joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudnick/there-is-only-one-blasphemy-and-that-is-the-refusal-to-experience-joy/) [Paul Rudnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudnick/) > [Letting go is letting happiness in, in trying to hold on to whats familiar, we limit our ability to experience joy in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/letting-go-is-letting-happiness-in-in-trying-to-hold-on-to-whats/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [“I wait for what comes and experience the joy and delight of the unexpected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-l-dunton/i-wait-for-what-comes-and-experience-the-joy-and-delight-of-the/) [Diane L. Dunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-l-dunton/) > [We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-weatherford/we-enjoy-warmth-because-we-have-been-cold-we-appreciate-light-because-2/) [David Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-weatherford/) > [To experience more joy in your life you have to be aware of your energy levels. You should also know how to conserve and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/to-experience-more-joy-in-your-life-you-have-to-be-aware-of-your/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [Your desire is your prayer. Picture the fulfillment of your desire now and feel its reality and you will experience the joy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/your-desire-is-your-prayer-picture-the-fulfillment-of-your-desire-now/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [When we smile, the world smiles with us: each experience of joy is an experience of joy for all people and a victory for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-raniere/when-we-smile-the-world-smiles-with-us-each-experience-of-joy-is-an/) [Keith Raniere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-raniere/) > [“There are only two ways to experience joy and peace of mind in relationships; we either get what we want or we learn to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-darn/there-are-only-two-ways-to-experience-joy-and-peace-of-mind-in/) [Kevin Darné](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-darn/) > [We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-weatherford/we-enjoy-warmth-because-we-have-been-cold-we-appreciate-light-because/) [David L Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-weatherford/) > [“It always amazes me when taking off from a stormy airport, how once you reach a certain altitude and get through the clouds, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-moffitt/it-always-amazes-me-when-taking-off-from-a-stormy-airport-how-once/) [Debra Moffitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-moffitt/) > [I use the term happiness to refer to the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-lyubomirsky/i-use-the-term-happiness-to-refer-to-the-experience-of-joy/) [Sonja Lyubomirsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-lyubomirsky/) > [I think we each have a personal sweet spot as well. It's the state of mind in which we experience the most joy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-spangler/i-think-we-each-have-a-personal-sweet-spot-as-well-it-s-the-state-of/) [David Spangler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-spangler/) ## More by KiKi Layne > [I feel there's a really raw quality in the Chicago theater community that's really special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-feel-there-s-a-really-raw-quality-in-the-chicago-theater-community/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [Instead of asking for permission, we're seeing more artists and creatives taking control over the stories we tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/instead-of-asking-for-permission-we-re-seeing-more-artists-and/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [Most Sagittariuses start off really reserved. You gotta check people out, see what they're about, and then once we decide you're cool, then that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/most-sagittariuses-start-off-really-reserved-you-gotta-check-people/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [Seeing all of these beautiful brown faces and having that patience for them to live in whatever it was that they were living in;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/seeing-all-of-these-beautiful-brown-faces-and-having-that-patience/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [Like, no, I can really be queen of the universe. I can be president. I can be, I don't know, an alien from Venus.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/like-no-i-can-really-be-queen-of-the-universe-i-can-be-president-i/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [I'm very grateful that 'Beale Street' was that opportunity for me to be introduced to the industry in that way and have some doors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-m-very-grateful-that-beale-street-was-that-opportunity-for-me-to-be/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [When you hear these stories about different cases of police brutality, don't even just make that person just another hashtag, another statistic. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/when-you-hear-these-stories-about-different-cases-of-police-brutality/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [To see a young black woman being loved for just who she is - her hair, her skin, her clothes - is powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/to-see-a-young-black-woman-being-loved-for-just-who-she-is-her-hair/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to keep doing work that speaks to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/the-only-thing-i-m-sure-of-is-that-i-want-to-keep-doing-work-that/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [I'm not going to sit around and wait for some old studio executive to decide my career path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-m-not-going-to-sit-around-and-wait-for-some-old-studio-executive-to/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [Making films is such a large, collaborative effort and there's so many people who are a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/making-films-is-such-a-large-collaborative-effort-and-there-s-so-many/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [I remember growing up and feeling like I didn't really see much of myself represented. Or if I did, there were only a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-remember-growing-up-and-feeling-like-i-didn-t-really-see-much-of/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [It means so much to be a part of bringing James Baldwin's words to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/it-means-so-much-to-be-a-part-of-bringing-james-baldwin-s-words-to/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [We all have those moments when you're sitting in your feelings and you're sitting in your thoughts and you're taking in what your current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/we-all-have-those-moments-when-you-re-sitting-in-your-feelings-and/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [I don't want to be put into a box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-don-t-want-to-be-put-into-a-box/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) [Explore all 99 KiKi Layne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) ## More Ability to love quotes > [“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/it-is-hardly-necessary-to-stress-the-fact-that-the-ability-to-love-as/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [What makes us human is not our mind but our heart, not our ability to think but our ability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-makes-us-human-is-not-our-mind-but-our-heart-not-our-ability-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The absent and inert girl hanging dreamless from my arms is no more foreign to me than the door or window through which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/the-absent-and-inert-girl-hanging-dreamless-from-my-arms-is-no-more/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“Life is difficult and people are imperfect. Unable to cope with the vagaries of this world, everyone makes mistakes. True love is the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devdutt-pattanaik/life-is-difficult-and-people-are-imperfect-unable-to-cope-with-the/) [Devdutt Pattanaik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devdutt-pattanaik/) > [When I speak about attention, I mean literally, "How much attention can we pay to ourselves?" As children, sometimes we cannot hold our attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-medicine-eagle/when-i-speak-about-attention-i-mean-literally-how-much-attention-can/) [Brooke Medicine Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-medicine-eagle/) > [“ No more. The yin fen has taken so much from me: my family, the years of my life, the strength in my body,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/no-more-the-yin-fen-has-taken-so-much-from-me-my-family-the-years-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Paradoxically, the ability to be alone is the condition for the ability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/paradoxically-the-ability-to-be-alone-is-the-condition-for-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/do-you-know-what-the-definition-of-insane-is-yes-it-s-the-inability/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [“With practice, you will find that not resisting holds the secret to many spiritual experiences, including the ability to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/with-practice-you-will-find-that-not-resisting-holds-the-secret-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [The greatest gift God gave us is also our greatest curse, which is the free will. We are made in God's image, the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/the-greatest-gift-god-gave-us-is-also-our-greatest-curse-which-is-the/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [“Higley was here.” “James Higley?” Thomas’s expression went flat. “You jest.” Nathaniel shook his head. “He was here after church services.” The memory stabbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-lynn-perry/higley-was-here-james-higley-thomas-s-expression-went-flat-you-jest/) [Amber Lynn Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-lynn-perry/) > [“It sickens me to think of you a prevalence of void unholy immovable damned. gifts. an overblown sense of his own importance. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/it-sickens-me-to-think-of-you-a-prevalence-of-void-unholy-immovable/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The solution for mankind is of a spiritual nature. It is not a political or religious solution. It's the ability to love each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/the-solution-for-mankind-is-of-a-spiritual-nature-it-is-not-a/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [“Remember Grace, if you let anger into your heart, it will push out your ability to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/remember-grace-if-you-let-anger-into-your-heart-it-will-push-out-your/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) [Browse all 161 Ability to love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we've faced historically. It's the ability to love and laugh and experience joy still in so many ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "KiKi Layne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black-community-through-so-many-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability to love" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black-community-through-so-many-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c40/kiki-layne-6343_ability-to-love_that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black_672635.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we've faced…” — KiKi Layne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "KiKi Layne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is the thing that brought...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black-community-through-so-many-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/that-is-the-thing-that-brought-the-black-community-through-so-many-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```