06: Raising Our Black Sons: Perspectives From Mothers

“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 face.”

While families come in many forms, we often downplay the role that mothers have in the lives of young Black boys. This podcast focuses on the mothers of Black boys, the unsung heroes are who are more than deserving of our praise.

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Priscilla Shorter is an energetic and motivated professional with 15 years of experience in the field of family support and advocacy in both education and hospital-research settings. She is currently a Parent Partner at the IDEAS Center, and in this capacity, provides training to clinicians on the 4R’s and 2S’s Program, a curriculum-based practice is designed to strengthen families, decrease child behavioral problems, and increase engagement in care by teaching the 4Rs (rules, roles and responsibilities, respectful communication, and relationships) and 2Ss (stress and social support). She has also worked as a ‘Standardized Parent’ for Columbia University/The New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she conducted 'walkthroughs' in service settings with family peer advocates, interviewed research subjects and conducted data entry and management of research data and information. Priscilla has also served as a Project Coordinator for the Parent Empowerment Program at Columbia University, a training and consultation program developed over a number of years through the collaborative efforts of researchers, practitioners, parents, parent advocates, and policymakers, designed to promote parents as agents of change for children’s mental health. Priscilla has also worked as an advocate for the Department of Education, helping families, parents, and her education colleagues to tackle complex situations regarding social and health issues, inclusion, case management, aging out of the education system, and guardianship.

Shawana Kemp is the creator of the family band soul Shine and the Moonbeams. She is also a special education teacher in Harlem. She has one son Zachary who keeps her woke.