Training Series
Black Boys & Men: Changing the Narrative
The Black Boys & Men: Changing the Narrative podcast series brings together thought leaders from the public and private sectors to analyze stereotypes and dispel myths concerning Black boys and men. The series calls into question issues of systemic racism and oppression and provides concrete steps to prevent and address many of the issues that disproportionately affect Black boys and men, including health disparities, incarceration, trauma, and violence.
00: Changing the Narrative
January 15, 2018
“With increased media and attention, more folks are attuned to racial issues and the long lasting impact of discrimination. These topics are near and dear to my heart, not only because of my own personal and professional experiences, but because they are solution focused.” Black boys and men are...
01: Addressing Historical Trauma
January 18, 2018
“And we do not, as a people, do not want to deal with the trauma because we believe that if we deal with the trauma that validates that there's something wrong with us and that the system will use it against us.”
Black boys and men are the subject of negative racial and gender-based stereotypes...
02: Violence and Trauma
January 22, 2018
“I keep emphasizing this concept of structural violence, which means, in a nutshell, harm that is preventable. And so we know that in 2017, we can prevent polio because we have vaccines. And so we know we can prevent violence, because we know what produces violence. Poverty produces violence.”...
03: Preventing Suicide
January 25, 2018
“...it's important to understand and focus on how black males are expressing their masculinity, the importance of them having safe spaces to emote, and to deal with their feelings, and their critical needs.”
This episode focuses on suicide prevention efforts geared towards young black men. Desp...
04: Racism, Masculinity, and Health
January 29, 2018
“Black men want to feel they are respected and human, and people see them in their fullest human potential. And so, when we are interacting with them, we need to do it respectfully, and with an appreciation for their humanity, the very appreciation we would all want for our humanity.”
This epis...
05: Masculinity and Trans Black Men
February 01, 2018
“I think people need to listen, I think you need to ask questions. And asking questions not to invalidate other people's truths but to complicate your own...It blows my mind that as a trans person I have to work so hard to try to make other people understand that I am as valuable in my humanity as...
06: Raising Our Black Sons: Perspectives From Mothers
February 05, 2018
“They want to give you another label. You're already a young black boy."
“I want him to really have experienced joy and I feel like so much... So many of the boys don't get to be joyful, they don't get to smile, they don't get to walk down the street and run with the sun beating down on their f...
07: Engaging Black Boys in Schools
February 08, 2018
“He wants to be seen as a person with a name, not a statistic.”
There are many myths regarding the academic achievement of Black boys and men, including that that Black boys do not value education. However, those statements are not true. This podcast will focus on debunking many of those myths...
08: School-to-Prison Pipeline
February 12, 2018
“There’s a legacy of structural racism that also has contributed mightily to the phenomenon that we call the school-to-prison pipeline.”
The School to Prison Pipeline is the link between educational practices and the increase in Black boys entering the juvenile justice system. This podcast wi...
10: Engaging Black Fathers in Behavioral Health Services
February 15, 2018
“...not all Black men are absent fathers. Even though there are statistics that show that there are some men who, for many reasons, may not be involved but there's a certain amount of many other men who are. And why aren't we hearing their story?”
Black fathers are often stigmatized within the...
09: Policies That Adversely Affect Black Fathers
February 16, 2018
“And because we live in a very patriarchal society, where we think that men should be able to get a job and take care of their family, some people don't have the same access to those opportunities to be able to take care of their family, have a child, get married if they desire to do that, and do...
11: Police Brutality and Trauma
February 22, 2018
“I think another takeaway is to really understand that police brutality is real, and that witnessing these acts of violence, gratuitous violence, on social media, on video cameras, we have to be careful that we don't become numb to the viewing of Black bodies.”
Police brutality and the criminal...
12: Reentry Following Incarceration
February 26, 2018
“I think that closing down a prison, I think is a great thing. But if you don't change the nature, if you don't change the actual criminal justice system, you're just moving one issue over to another location, because the same conditions will probably exist unless you're gonna deal with it.”
In...
13: Reentry Part 2: Getting Back to Work
March 01, 2018
“...they just have a history of being treated as a number. And when you treat somebody as a number, you don't really listen or you don't really give the type of quantifying time that that individual needs for whatever it is that they're facing.”
Following incarceration, black men who are seekin...
14: Resilience and Steps Forward
March 05, 2018
“I think that people already have resilience. I think that it's labelled in a way, where they don't really understand that. If you have survived prison, if you have survived waking up day in and day out, just maintaining to get through that, trying, you're practicing resilience, right then. When y...