Verzuz Battles, Club Quarantine & the Experiences We’ll Bring With Us

During a public health crisis that compels us to stay indoors, these digital communal moments are opportunities to lean into joy

Candice Marie Benbow
ZORA

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A photo of Toni Braxton.
Singer and actress Toni Braxton attends the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations screening and Q&A of “Faith Under Fire” at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Screening Room on June 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

I’ll never forget that epic night in Club Quarantine when DJ D-Nice’s Instagram Live stream reached 100,000 participants. Kevin Hart tried to buy out the bar, but his card kept getting declined. Gabrielle Union was in the middle of the dance floor with fans, who quickly became friends. It was wild when Bernie, Biden, and Elizabeth Warren came through, but everyone lost it when Forever First Lady Michelle Obama stepped into the building. A few weeks later, Teddy Riley and Babyface represented for Black uncles around the world and lost to technology. We laughed when we learned Tyrese was probably never a spelling bee champion, and we hollered at Toni Braxton’s Twitter narration of it all. Who knew she was such a comedian?

In the midst of a public health crisis that compels us to stay indoors, these digital communal moments are opportunities to lean into joy. And now more than ever, we need them.

Studies show that Black communities have three times the rate of coronavirus infection and six times the death rate of White communities. And wealth hasn’t insulated Black…

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