Alyssa Pointer for CNN

One recent Wednesday night in Atlanta, dozens of people gathered in a studio space armed with water bottles, hand fans, towels and an expectation to be in sync.

There were hugs among the regulars while newcomers stood off to the side, unsure of what the next 90 minutes might bring. Some wore athletic shoes, some boots and all came with the enthusiasm required of those about to learn.

It was a welcome distraction from the chaotic world outside of the studio walls where political division, economic uncertainty and more dominate headlines.

“There is a meme or social media posts going around right now that says something like ‘The country is falling apart and Black folks are minding our business and learning new line dances,” attendee Chimere Love told CNN. “I think that’s how it is for me right now. I just want something that will help me unload and just have some fun without thinking about the stress of what’s going on in reality.”

If Kamala Harris’ rallying campaign last year tapped into a moment of overwhelming Black joy, some of the current administration’s policies — like the dismantling of diversity, equality and inclusion programs — have given way to a despondency for which there is, ironically, one apparent cure: more joy.

This response is markedly different than what we’ve seen in the past, noted journalist Charles Blow.

“Actually, Black people are out marching. It just looks different,” Blow wrote earlier this month.

The video that accompanied his words showed a crowd of Black people dancing with fans in their hands.

“Fans have replaced the signs, and joy has replaced the rage,” Blow added. “Politics are important and have their place, but Black people at the moment are dwelling in the healing power of community. #LikeItOrNot.”

In essence, instead of taking a knee in protest Black people are using their feet. A movement by way of movement — in a way that’s actually not new.

The collective

Cultural expert and founder of “The Burton Wire,” Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D. told CNN that Black people leaning toward each other amid challenge is rooted in rich history.

“Black culture is a collective culture,” she said. “Line dancing is cool because it gives us an opportunity to connect with others, to express ourselves with others, and to collaborate on dances. It’s just another way in which we come together and express it visually.”

People dance during the class in Atlanta.

Burton pointed out that enslaved people in America used music and dance as a way to worship, communicate and resist.

“It was a way for them to give instructions when they were trying to do something, whether it was escape or to organize,” she said. “You think about [the dance] the limbo, which is actually a Caribbean form of dance, but that came out of this idea of slave ships, how tight they were and how confined they were.”

And while line dancing extends beyond African American communities, Burton reflected on the special place it holds during tumultuous times.

“With line dancing, it doesn’t matter what political party you are. It doesn’t matter where you grew up, if you went to private school, public, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “You just come together and you create. You express yourself in a way that is pleasing, that is fun and that gives you a sense of community. We love to come together because there’s so many ways in which people try to tear us apart.”

Speaking to hearts

If there’s a Black wedding, cookout or baby shower, line dancing will likely be part of the celebration. From the Electric Slide to the Cupid Shuffle, the Wobble and the Cha Cha Slide, it’s almost expected that people in attendance will at some point cut a rug.

That last dance was the subject of a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, with John Mulaney as a software engineer worried about meeting his Black girlfriend’s family at her cousin’s wedding, though the joke is that’s clearly not going to be a problem once the audience sees him expertly executing the Cha Cha Slide.

Social media has fueled the current popularity of line dancing.

Last year, singer Douglas Furtick, who performs as 803 Fresh, released the single “Boots on the Ground.” It quickly went viral for both its accompanying line dance and the infectious lyric “Where them fans at,” at which point dancers respond with a loud snap of handheld fans.

Videos of people from toddlers to senior citizens dancing along to the song have become ubiquitous on the internet.

Grammy-nominated singer Tamia saw a resurgence of her 2006 single “Can’t Get Enough” after a line dance to the tune started to make the rounds on social media.

She told CNN that her daughter informed her about the dance during the height of the pandemic and Tamia and her husband, legendary basketball star and sports analyst Grant Hill, decided to learn it.

“We just took our time. This was Covid, so we had time. It probably literally was like an entire day where I had to walk away and then come back and visit it and say, ‘No okay, now show me this again. Now what’s this?’” she said of learning what has become known as the “Tamia Line Dance,” credited to choreographer Jo Thompson. “It does take time, but it’s so amazing when you get a group of people together and everyone’s doing the same thing. It’s pretty fantastic.”

The dance “gave the song another life” and now Tamia performs the moves when she sings the song during her concerts. She told CNN she’s not at all surprised that line dancing is being embraced culturally at this moment.

“I’ve always believed music is therapy,” she said. “It speaks to the heart.”

‘Part of our healing’

Jasmine King is the instructor for the Wednesday night line dance class in Atlanta and sees a correlation between former Vice President Kamala Harris losing the election in November and the increased interest in line dancing in the Black community.

Black women who supported her have dubbed themselves the “92 percent” — a reference to the percentage of Black women voters who cast their ballot for Harris — many of whom have been outspoken about stepping away from politics and the perception they’re called upon to be saviors of the Democratic Party.

King said she’s seen the memes about the Black community line dancing in recent months and believes it illustrates how “we’re still pushing through, no matter how the odds are working against us.”

“I think the reason why it is rising the way it is and being presented at the forefront that the world is crashing, but we’re still line dancing is because we’ve been through the worst already,” King said. “Dance has always been a part of our healing and this is a way for us to say, ‘We’re going to leave everything at the door. I don’t care about what happened at work. I don’t care about any and all odds against me. This is my moment that I get to connect with my community.’”

As a woman of color who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community, King said she understands why many people feel worried about their well-being right now. Still, she’s choosing to be positive.

“I can easily move in a manner that is fearful, but my mom encouraged me to keep my head held up high and to find things to pour into because this is just a moment, just as many tough times have arisen and have passed,” she said. “This is will go past as well.”

Raven Rasco attended King’s class and echoed that sentiment.

The Mississippi native said she was drawn to the class as it reminded her of her family gatherings. Line dancing, she said, is “coming together, talking to each other, creating a space for us to just show up and be ourselves and not worry about saving somebody else for once.”

“We are saving ourselves and our community, doing what we have to do for our people,” Rasco said. “What we know about hard times is getting through them, and we’re choosing to be with each other while it’s a hard time. We can’t be focused on everybody else. We did our part by voting.”

Boots on, fans out, step by step, together.