Jonece Dunigan

1 week ago | nj.com | Jonece Dunigan

The residents of Clarksdale, Miss., have really cast a spell on famed filmmaker Ryan Coogler. Luckily, it wasn’t the bloody, vampire-ridden kind of magic showcased in his blockbuster hit “Sinners.” On Thursday, Coogler was charmed by the town’s hospitality, gratitude and determination to thrive during a special screening of the movie, which is set in Clarksdale in 1932.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Jonece Dunigan

This story is a part of a series about three Black women who found joy after enduring intimate partner violence. If you or someone you know is going through domestic abuse, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or you can text BEGIN to 88788. Hope found Ashley Simpo adrift in a fog of depression. At 21, she had left an abusive seven-year relationship that ended with a threat on her life. While she made it out of the situation alive, she wasn’t mentally well.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Jonece Dunigan

This story is a part of a series about three Black women who found joy after enduring intimate partner violence. If you or someone you know is going through domestic abuse, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or you can text BEGIN to 88788. After enduring several years of chaos, Keaidy Bennett and her three children are finding peace together in Orlando. Bennett has become a master joy cultivator in the simplest moments.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Jonece Dunigan

Want more restorative stories in your inbox? Sign up for the Black Joy newsletter to access empowering and energizing content three times a week!The past few weeks have been busy with discourse about intimate partner violence. Much of the conversations were triggered by singer Cassie Ventura, who spent three days in court last week recounting the violence and violations she endured during her relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs.

2 weeks ago | nj.com | Jonece Dunigan

This story is a part of a series about three Black women who found joy after enduring intimate partner violence. If you or someone you know is going through domestic abuse, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or you can text BEGIN to 88788. Ashley-Lauren Elrod was a child when she learned how suffocating silence can be. After she was sexually assaulted between the ages of six and 10, Elrod’s family contacted authorities to press charges.