Everyone should watch this video of Tony Porter as he delivers a talk in DC earlier this month on masculinity. Masculinity, in its simplest terms, is “what it means to be a man” in a given society. Porter does a great job of sharing his personal narrative of growing up and fathering and how they have forced him to rethink what it means to be a man. Because of work of folks like Tony Porter, Jewel Woods, Mark Anthony Neal, Daniel Black, Byron Hurt and many others I’ve been pushed to rethink what manhood is and to find/develop healthier models of masculinity. I’m pleased to announce this summer I’ll be working with the non-profit A Long Walk Home to develop and implement a program in Chicago that deals with these very issues. We’ll be working with Black male youth on being allies in the struggles against sexual violence and gender oppression, while providing these young men the scaffolding to be advocates for their selves and peers. But more to come on that later. In the meantime, please click and share widely!!
I recently penned a piece on TheGrio.com about the Georgia Prisoner Protest that is being overlooked by too many. Please check it out and spread the word about the brave actions of our people behind the walls to change their conditions and all of our lives.
For nearly a week, prisoners throughout the state of Georgia have been engaged in one of the largest prison protests in this nation’s history. Why is this not plastered across mainstream media, blogs, and 24 hour cable news? The simple answer maybe that the more we focus on prisoners’ rights, the more we are forced to focus on human rights and community transformation.
It is erroneously taught in many U.S. schools that the 13th amendment abolished all slavery, when in fact the amendment reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” The italicized text leaves a powerful “loophole” in the American narrative of equality and freedom. In fact, the conditions in many U.S. prisons continue to spiral towards a peculiar form of industrial slavery.
Corrigendum: In the piece I mean to say “under correctional control” not incarcerated when referencing Michelle Alexander’s work in “The New Jim Crow.”
You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much on here lately, don’t worry! I’m in the lab cooking up some goodies that you’ll see sooner or later.
In the meantime, definitely check out the archives which go back years! If you read through all the archives and are still thirsty for more, let me know, so I can get a restraining order.
Okay, some of you may know that there’s this little Tyler Perry film coming out today …if you don’t, oh well! Here is a pretty good parody on the trailer.
This week I’ve been peeking in on Ta-Nehisi Coates‘ musings as he re-reads the autobiography of Malcolm X. Coates has done us a great service by sharing his reading of Malcolm’s life as told by Alex Haley, but this service can easily slip into a disservice. Malcolm on one hand has been deified and on the other hand demonized. We must humanize Malcolm, like all the figures in the African Diasporic canon, but we must do it with a particular degree of care and context.
Thus far Coates has posted three entries: “Black Men are Watching Every Move I Make“, “She Had Broken the Spirits of Three Husbands” and “Confronting Valhalla’s Humanity” all of which I received with resonation and reservation. This post is to illuminate my reservations. Most of us are familiar with figures like Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, and Marcus Garvey as icons. In our history, each of them has become flattened, polished, and made rigid caricatures. Ironically, this is something all three would deeply object to, but this is often the consequence of canonizing. In breaking apart these images though, we must go deeper than just problematizing these brothers, we have to contextualize them. CONTINUE READING
Last week, I had the pleasure of being on NPR’s Tell Me More with host Michel Martin to discuss the Vibe Article, “The Mean Girls of Morehouse.” The conversation was really interesting as we were joined by Aliya S. King, the author of the controversial piece, and Brian Alston, one of the students profiled in the article. The article’s publication has caused a firestorm that has raised some important challenges to our community around masculinity, sexuality, and race. Take a listen to the piece here.
For some evidence of the percolated conversations, check out this clip of brothers on the yard discussing the article and the greater community.
Recently, I had the pleasure of appearing on “Our World with Black Enterprise” hosted by Marc Lamont Hill. The show hosted a panel discussion on education reform with me, David C. Banks – CEO of the Eagle Academy Foundation, and Keli Goff – Political Contributor on the Loop21.com. The conversation was a good start to seriously engaging the issues facing our schools, particularly Black boys. Check out the panel below and make sure to check out future episodes of Our World, which is covering some cutting edge topics.
Update: the folks at theGrio are so dope and responsive that they changed the title of the piece. Salute to them for journalistic and social integrity!
Morehouse College, my beloved alma mater, has again been catapulted into the national spotlight due to a forthcoming article in Vibe magazine. The story entitled, “The Mean Girls of Morehouse”, by Aliya King, traces the experience of three gender bending current and former Morehouse students. Before the article could hit the Internet or news stands the President of Morehouse Dr. Robert M. Franklin issued a letter to alumni decrying the portrayal of Morehouse. Franklin’s move, while to some may be proactive, is actually reactionary and misses the mark on the importance of the story. Where Franklin and other see the maligning of Morehouse, when I read the article I see the space for a richer discussion of masculinity, higher education, and community.
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Last week, I had the pleasure of being on NPR’s Tell Me More with host Michel Martin to discuss the Vibe Article, “
Morehouse College, my beloved alma mater, has again been catapulted into the national spotlight due to a forthcoming article in Vibe magazine. The story entitled, 
