You realize there are rooms your child will enter that you cannot.

A classroom.

A locker room.

A sleepover.

A college campus.

A workplace.

A friend’s house.

And somewhere along the way, the question changes.

It stops being:

“Can I protect my child?”

And becomes:

“Have I prepared my child?”

Over the past week, I’ve been reading stories from Black parents, educators, white parents raising Black and biracial children, and adults reflecting on what it was like growing up as the only Black student in predominantly white schools.

One phrase kept appearing in different forms:

Belonging is not the same as protection.

That idea has stayed with me.

For years, many families have worked hard to give their children access to the best schools, neighborhoods, and opportunities. But what happens after they arrive?

How do we know they’re truly seen?

Who notices when they’re isolated?

Who advocates for them when they’re not in the room?

How do we help them recognize unhealthy situations without teaching them to fear everyone around them?

This Isn’t Just a Conversation About Race

It’s a conversation about parenting.

It’s about identity.

It’s about belonging.

It’s about resilience.

It’s about the invisible lessons children learn every day.

Sometimes those lessons come from a teacher.

Sometimes from a friend.

Sometimes from a group photo where one child is quietly positioned differently.

Sometimes from being the only one in the room.

Sometimes from finally finding someone who says,

“I see you.”

These moments shape identity long before children have the language to describe them.

One Idea We’ll Explore Together

One distinction has become increasingly important during my research:

Fear assumes danger.

Suspicion assumes bad intentions.

Discernment pays attention.

Our goal isn’t to raise fearful children.

It’s to raise children who know themselves, trust their instincts, ask good questions, and never feel they have to trade their identity to gain acceptance.

We’ll Be Talking About...

• What does belonging really look like?

• How do parents recognize when a child is surviving instead of thriving?

• How do we teach confidence without creating fear?

• What conversations should happen before our children leave home?

• What role do mentors, teachers, coaches, and communities play when parents can’t be there?

• How do we prepare children to succeed without asking them to shrink themselves?

This Is a Community Conversation

This isn’t about blame.

This isn’t about pointing fingers.

This is about listening.

Learning.

Sharing stories.

And helping one another become better parents, mentors, educators, neighbors, and advocates.

Some of the most meaningful insights on Soul Thursdays don’t come from the host.

They come from someone in the audience saying,

“That happened to my child too.”

or

“I wish someone had told me that twenty years ago.”

That’s how community grows.

Join Us Live

🎙️ Soul Thursdays Community Discussion

Black Kids. White Spaces.

📅 Thursday, July 23
🕗 8:00 PM Eastern

🌐 SoulThursdays.com

Come with your questions.

Come with your experiences.

Come ready to listen as much as you speak.

Because our children deserve more than access to opportunity.

They deserve the confidence to walk into any room knowing they belong—and the wisdom to recognize when something isn’t right.

Let’s grow together. 💛

Is it changing the institutions that shape our lives?

Or is it creating trusted spaces where people can heal, grow, and find direction before crisis ever begins?

Tonight on Soul Thursdays, we’re bringing together two powerful conversations that answer the same question from two very different perspectives.

Join the Conversation

📅 Tonight — Thursday, July 16, 2026
🕗 8:00 PM ET
🎥 LIVE at SoulThursdays.com

🏰 Inside the Castle Walls — Dr. Erroll G. Southers

For generations we’ve been told:

Get the education.
Work twice as hard.
Earn a seat at the table.

But what happens once you’re finally inside?

Can you change the system without the system changing you?

Former FBI Special Agent, homeland security leader, USC professor, and author Dr. Erroll G. Southers shares his remarkable journey from young activist to institutional leader, exploring what it means to lead from inside the rooms where decisions are made.

Together we’ll discuss:

• The family lessons that shaped him long before the FBI

• Why his father told him, “You can’t change the castle from outside the moat.”

• Access, influence, and leadership

• Mentorship and preparation

• Opening doors for the next generation

💈 From Barbershops to Boardrooms — Perrin Anderson

But changing communities doesn’t happen only inside institutions.

Sometimes it begins in a barber chair.

Meet Perrin Anderson, barber, educator, father, and founder of Kings in the Cave, a movement creating spaces where men can be honest, grow, and reconnect before life pushes them toward crisis.

This conversation is for:

💈 Barbers
✂️ Hair Stylists
⛪ Pastors
🤝 Mentors
👨🏾‍🏫 Educators
🏀 Coaches
❤️ Community Builders

We’ll explore:

• Why the barbershop is more than a place for haircuts

• Building trusted spaces before men crash out

• Faith, therapy, fatherhood, and personal growth

• From the barber chair to community leadership

• What happens when ordinary people become extraordinary community builders

🏰 + 💈 Changing the Castle. Building the Cave.

These aren’t two separate conversations.

They’re two sides of the same challenge.

One asks:

How do we change systems from within?

The other asks:

How do we reach people before those systems ever become involved?

Because strong communities need both.

We need leaders inside the castle.

We need trusted voices inside the cave.

And we need bridges between them.

Join the Conversation

📅 Tonight — Thursday, July 16, 2026
🕗 8:00 PM ET
🎥 LIVE at SoulThursdays.com

Share it with someone who believes our communities deserve better.

Because community transformation doesn’t happen in one room.

It happens when the people in every room begin working together.

We grow together. 💛

🎙 Built, Not Born: Who Helped Build You?
Thursday, July 2 • 8:00 PM ET
JOIN NOW

Calvin Creates
Founder | Community Education Collective
Executive Producer | Soul Thursdays

Community Learning Architect & Ecosystem Builder
Connecting community voice, expert knowledge, and practical solutions that strengthen families and communities.

Planning a conference, reunion, livestream, podcast, or hybrid event?
Schedule a complimentary discovery conversation: Book a Discovery Call with Calvin

Joining Donnell is leadership coach P. Kevin Williamson, who has spent more than 26 years helping professionals develop confidence, strengthen leadership, and discover their calling.

Together, they’ll help us launch our new Healthy Masculinity series with a conversation that goes beyond boxing and business to explore a question that affects us all:

Who helped build you?

Through stories of mentorship, perseverance, leadership, and personal growth, we’ll explore how healthy men—and healthy communities—are built one relationship, one lesson, and one generation at a time.

🎙 Built, Not Born: Who Helped Build You?
Thursday, July 2 • 8:00 PM ET
Register FREE

At State of Black Man, we believe healthy masculinity isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something that’s developed through relationships, responsibility, accountability, and community.

For years, public conversations about Black men have often focused on statistics, crises, and problems.

Less often do we stop to ask a different question:

What helps boys become healthy men?

Not perfect men.

Not celebrity men.

Not wealthy men.

Healthy men.

That’s why we’re excited to launch a new ongoing conversation:

Healthy Masculinity

This series will explore the people, experiences, values, and life lessons that shape emotionally healthy, purpose-driven men.

We’ll discuss topics like:

• Mentorship

• Fatherhood

• Emotional Intelligence

• Leadership

• Identity

• Discipline

• Relationships

• Purpose

• Mental Health

• Community

• Healing

• Legacy

Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with Black men?”

We’ll begin asking:

What helps Black men thrive?

Episode One: Built, Not Born: Who Helped Build You?

Our first conversation brings together two men whose careers couldn’t appear more different.

Leadership coach P. Kevin Williamson has spent more than 26 years helping professionals develop confidence, strengthen leadership, and build healthier organizational cultures.

Former heavyweight contender Donnell Holmes rose from a small town in North Carolina to become the #1 ranked Light Heavyweight in the United States, a member of the U.S. World Class Elite Boxing Team, and eventually a Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.

One developed leaders.

One developed champions.

Both were developed by someone else.

Their stories remind us that confidence is built.

Character is built.

Leadership is built.

Discipline is built.

Healthy masculinity is built.

Community Discussion

After our spotlight conversations, we’ll open the floor to one question that every person can answer:

Who Helped Build You?

Think about the people who shaped your life.

Who challenged you?

Who corrected you?

Who encouraged you?

Who believed in you before you believed in yourself?

Maybe it was a parent.

A coach.

A teacher.

A pastor.

An aunt.

A grandfather.

A fraternity brother.

A neighbor.

Or perhaps someone who simply showed up when you needed them most.

As a community, we’ll reflect on how those relationships continue to shape our lives—and what responsibility we now have to help build others.

Because healthy communities don’t happen by accident.

They are built.

One relationship.

One conversation.

One generation at a time.

🎙 Join Us Live

Healthy Masculinity Series

Episode One

Built, Not Born: Who Helped Build You?

Featuring

P. Kevin Williamson
Leading Beyond the Title: Confidence, Community, and Calling

Donnell Holmes
The Heart of a Contender

🗓 Thursday, July 2

🕗 8:00 PM Eastern

Because every one of us is still being built.

Calvin Creates
Founder | Community Education Collective
Executive Producer | Soul Thursdays

Community Learning Architect & Ecosystem Builder
Connecting community voice, expert knowledge, and practical solutions that strengthen families and communities.

Planning a conference, reunion, livestream, podcast, or hybrid event?
Schedule a complimentary discovery conversation: Book a Discovery Call with Calvin

📅 Thursday, June 18, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM START– 💻 Virtual (Zoom)

JOIN at JuneteenthConference.org

What We’re Covering

1. Building a Self-Sustaining Black Economy

2. Mental & Spiritual Health for Holistic Healing

3. Urban Farming & Food Deserts

4. Food Security in Black America

5. How to Start an African American Museum in Your City

Who’s Already in the Room

• University professors and deans from Tuskegee, Kansas State, Duke, Indiana, Tulane

• Government leaders from Detroit, Rochester, and Richland County

• Nonprofit founders running food justice, youth development, and crisis intervention

• Educators, entrepreneurs, and community organizers from 20+ states

— Calvin Rich, Soul Thursdays · Community Education Collective

Founder | Community Education Collective

Executive Producer | Soul Thursdays

Community Architect | Connecting people, ideas, and expertise to build stronger communities.

🌐 CoEDCommunity.com

🎙️ DJCalvin.com

Planning a conference, reunion, livestream, podcast, or hybrid event?

Schedule a complimentary discovery conversation:

📅 Book a Discovery Call with Calvin

There’s a quiet conversation happening in a lot of homes right now.

And that changes the conversation. SoulThursdays.com - Register here for this week’s session!

Some Questions We’ll Explore Together

• What does “prepared for adulthood” actually mean today?

• What responsibilities helped YOU grow?

• How do we know when we’re helping children versus overprotecting them?

• What builds confidence and resilience in young people?

• Did survival culture change the way our communities parent?

• What conversations are missing right now?

🎙️ Soul Thursdays
Real Voices. Real Stories. Real Community.
🌐 Join Now at SoulThursdays.com

📅 Thursday, April 16 - JOIN HERE

Raised in foster care and overcoming homelessness as a teenager, Fisher transformed his life experiences into the bestselling memoir Finding Fish, a powerful story of survival, healing, and the search for belonging.

His newest book, Reflections Beneath the Buckeye Trees: Notes from a Life, offers thoughtful reflections on forgiveness, memory, and the lessons learned across a lifetime.

Antwone Fisher’s story reminds us that even in the hardest circumstances, transformation is possible.

This will be a deeply personal conversation about resilience, storytelling, identity, and what it means to reclaim your life narrative.

📅 Thursday, April 16 🕖 7:45 PM ET - REGISTER HERE

📅 Thursday, April 16 🕖 7:45 PM ET - REGISTER HERE

Raised in foster care and overcoming homelessness as a teenager, Fisher transformed his life experiences into the bestselling memoir Finding Fish, a powerful story of survival, healing, and the search for belonging.

His newest book, Reflections Beneath the Buckeye Trees: Notes from a Life, offers thoughtful reflections on forgiveness, memory, and the lessons learned across a lifetime.

Antwone Fisher’s story reminds us that even in the hardest circumstances, transformation is possible.

This will be a deeply personal conversation about resilience, storytelling, identity, and what it means to reclaim your life narrative.

📅 Thursday, April 16 🕖 7:45 PM ET - REGISTER HERE

Antwone Fisher is a New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter whose life story inspired the acclaimed film Antwone Fisher. Raised in foster care and overcoming homelessness as a teenager, Fisher transformed his life experiences into the bestselling memoir Finding Fish. His newest book, Reflections Beneath the Buckeye Trees: Notes from a Life, reflects on forgiveness, memory, and the lessons learned across a lifetime.

Join the Conversation

Soul Thursdays has always been about more than listening — it’s about learning together, sharing experiences, and building community through honest conversation.

Whether you’re caring for family, reflecting on your own life journey, or simply seeking deeper understanding, these conversations are for you.

JOIN NOW for BUILD — Brotherhood, Unity, Integrity, Leadership & Duty

Our guest, Curtis Pitts, brings a perspective grounded in community leadership and real-world responsibility. His message is simple, but powerful: strong communities don’t happen by accident — they are built by men who understand their role in them.

We’ll talk about what it means to surround yourself with the right men, how to lead without a title, and why integrity matters more than image. We’ll also explore the idea that manhood isn’t just about personal success — it’s about what exists because you showed up and took responsibility.

If you’re a parent, mentor, or someone raising a young man, this is one of those conversations that can create a shift. And if you’re a young man between 18–28, this is an opportunity to hear what leadership and responsibility actually look like in practice.

📅 Thursday | 8 PM ET
🎤 Guest: Curtis Pitts
📍 Live Session

You can reserve your spot here:
1828academy.com

If someone came to mind while reading this — a son, nephew, or young man in your life — invite him to join you.

Because at some point, every man has to answer the question:

Young Man, What are You Building? - Register at 1828academy.com

It’s no longer just, “What can I achieve?”
It becomes, “What am I building?”

Most young men are taught how to pursue success — how to get a job, make money, and compete. But very few are taught how to build something that lasts. A strong family. A trusted reputation. A community that’s better because they were part of it.

That shift — from achievement to responsibility — is where manhood really begins.

This week at Manhood Academy, we’re continuing our kickoff series with a conversation centered on that idea:

BUILD — Brotherhood, Unity, Integrity, Leadership & Duty

Our guest, Curtis Pitts, brings a perspective grounded in community leadership and real-world responsibility. His message is simple, but powerful: strong communities don’t happen by accident — they are built by men who understand their role in them.

We’ll talk about what it means to surround yourself with the right men, how to lead without a title, and why integrity matters more than image. We’ll also explore the idea that manhood isn’t just about personal success — it’s about what exists because you showed up and took responsibility.

If you’re a parent, mentor, or someone raising a young man, this is one of those conversations that can create a shift. And if you’re a young man between 18–28, this is an opportunity to hear what leadership and responsibility actually look like in practice.

📅 Thursday | 8 PM ET
🎤 Guest: Curtis Pitts
📍 Live Session

You can reserve your spot here:
1828academy.com

If someone came to mind while reading this — a son, nephew, or young man in your life — invite him to join you.

Because at some point, every man has to answer the question:

Young Man, What are You Building? - Register at 1828academy.com

JOIN NOW

A Conversation with Dr. Berry Pierre

Our guest speaker is Dr. Berry Pierre, a board-certified physician, health educator, and advocate who has spent years helping people understand the real impact of everyday health decisions.

But this conversation is not just about medicine.

It’s about ownership.

Ownership of your body.
Ownership of your habits.
Ownership of the future you are building.

Because long-term leadership doesn’t begin in the boardroom.

It begins in daily discipline.

Join the Conversation

📍 Manhood Academy Session

Vitality & Longevity — Why Young Men Must Protect Their Future

🩺 Guest Speaker: Dr. Berry Pierre
Board-Certified Physician | Health Educator | Advocate

Young men ages 18–28 are encouraged to attend.

Parents and mentors are welcome as well.

Reserve your spot:
1828academy.com

JOIN NOW HERE

Leadership Beyond Titles

A Different Kind of Conversation

Join the Conversation

Become a Speaker:
👉 1828academy.com

If you know a young man between 18 and 28, invite him to join the conversation.

Because sometimes the most powerful lessons about manhood come from simply hearing how another man chose to live.

At State of the Black Man, we believe these conversations matter. Not as abstract debates about masculinity, but as real discussions about how men live, lead, and influence the generations behind them.

That’s why this week we continue the Manhood Academy 18–28 Kickoff Series with a conversation titled:

Measure of a Man

Our featured guest is Maurice Spencer, a technology leader, mentor, basketball coach, and proud girl dad whose journey reflects many of the values that shape strong communities.

The Role of Mentors

For many Black men, mentorship has always been a powerful force.

Sometimes it’s the coach who demanded discipline.
Sometimes it’s the elder who offered wisdom at the right moment.
Sometimes it’s a leader who showed that success and character could exist in the same space.

Maurice often speaks about the coaches who shaped him during his basketball journey growing up in Martinsville, Virginia — a small Southern town where community, sports, and mentorship often intersect.

Those mentors taught him lessons that extended far beyond the court: accountability, teamwork, respect, and perseverance.

Today, Maurice continues that legacy by coaching youth basketball — including his daughter’s AAU team — and investing in the development of young athletes who are learning life lessons through sport.

Because leadership often begins with example.

Leadership Beyond Titles

Professionally, Maurice has spent more than two decades building teams and leading organizations in the technology sector.

But for him, leadership isn’t about titles.

It’s about responsibility.

It’s about creating environments where people can grow, where fairness and opportunity matter, and where leaders understand that their actions influence everyone watching them.

For young men navigating adulthood today, those lessons are invaluable.

A Different Kind of Conversation

The Manhood Academy initiative was created because many young men today are searching for guidance but lack consistent access to mentorship.

Parents are doing their best.
Communities care deeply.

But structured spaces where young men can hear wisdom from experienced leaders are becoming increasingly rare.

Through the State of the Black Man platform, these conversations aim to highlight real examples of leadership and character.

Maurice Spencer represents one measure of a man.

Not the only measure.
Not a perfect blueprint.

But a real example of how leadership, mentorship, humor, discipline, and fatherhood can coexist in one life.

Join the Conversation

This week we continue the 18–28 Manhood Academy Kickoff Series with:

Measure of a Man

Featuring Maurice Spencer

We’ll explore:

• Leadership beyond titles
• The influence of mentors and coaches
• Lessons from sports and fatherhood
• Character, responsibility, and accountability
• Preparing the next generation of men

📅 Thursday
🕗 8 PM Eastern

Register here:
👉 1828academy.com

If you know a young man between 18 and 28, invite him to join the conversation.

Because sometimes the most powerful lessons about manhood come from simply hearing how another man chose to live.

🔗 Join Now: Click Here

How Young Men Show Up in the Room.

Our first guest speaker, Terrence Waller, will lead a conversation on professionalism, presentation, and presence — covering:

• How attire communicates before you speak

• Preparing for interviews and leadership spaces

• Reading professional environments

• Carrying yourself with clarity and confidence

This is not about respectability politics.
It’s about giving boys the tools to navigate rooms with awareness and intention.

This event is an Open House + Community Conversation.

We’ll share:

• Why Manhood Academy was created

• What the survey data revealed

• The 4-week kickoff plan

• How parents and community members can stay involved

If you care about a son, nephew, grandson, or young man becoming grounded and prepared — this space is for you.

📍 Live Open House
🎙️ Speaker: Terrence Waller
🎓 Topic: Professionalism, Presentation & Presence
🔗 Register here: Click Here

Let’s build this — together.

—
Calvin Rich
Author | Founder, 1828 Manhood Academy
Creator of the 32 Flavors Identity Framework
AudacityBook.com - From survival to stewardship.

LIVE — JOIN (CLICK HERE) NOW

🔗 LIVE NOW AT: SoulThursdays.com - A free community wellness conversation.

Real Dads. Real Data. Real Change.

For generations, the story about Black fathers has been told for us and about us — rarely with us.
This Thursday, we’re changing that.

The truth is simple: Black fathers have always been more than the stereotypes, and now the research finally reflects what our communities have known all along.

This conversation is for every dad, bonus dad, uncle, mentor, mom, grandmother, teacher, and anyone who cares about how our boys and families grow.

🔥 What We’re Diving Into:

• The real numbers behind Black fatherhood (not the myths, not the headlines)

• Why dads shape emotional and academic outcomes in ways we rarely talk about

• How culture, systems, and community either support or limit father involvement

• Practical habits every father, uncle, mentor, or bonus dad can start using immediately

• A new blueprint for confident, connected, community-rooted fatherhood

📅 Thursday

⏰ 7PM CT / 8PM ET
🔗 Register: SoulThursdays.com

A free community wellness conversation.

💬

Let’s shift the narrative.
Let’s uplift the truth.
Let’s build fathers — and fathers will build the world.

#Fatherhood #BlackFathers #SoulThursdays #TheDadEffect #CommunityWellness #HealingForTheCulture

FRIDAY — Marriage Rewired Live Presents:

HOLEY • WHOLLY • HOLY

Same sound.
Very different experience.
Which one is shaping your love story?

On Friday, Dec 12 @ 8 PM ET, we’re stepping into a deeper conversation about relationships — not the fluffy stuff, but the interior work most people never talk about.

Whether you’re single, dating, married, navigating heartbreak, or rebuilding trust… this night is going to move something in you.

✨ HOLEY

When unhealed places leak into love.

✨ WHOLLY

When identity, alignment, and self-awareness create emotional maturity.

✨ HOLY

When partnership becomes purpose, peace, and covenant.

This isn’t a lecture.
It’s a full experience — rooted in healing, humor, and truth.

🎶 Music by DJ Calvin

🎙️ Live panel • Games • Open Mic • Real transformation

🔗 FREE Registration:

SoulPodShow.com

#MarriageMinded #SinglesWhoPray #KingdomMarriage #MarriageMinistry
#ChristianSingles #HealthyLove #RelationshipReadiness #LoveLessons

Closing Note

Two nights.
Two conversations meant to strengthen our families, deepen our healing, and reconnect us to each other.

If Soul Thursdays has taught us anything over these last five years, it’s this:

Community changes everything.
And we grow better when we grow together.

Let’s get into what’s coming.

THURSDAY — THE FATHER EFFECT

Real Dads. Real Data. Real Change.

with Christopher A. Brown

For generations, the story about Black fathers has been told for us and about us — rarely with us.
This Thursday, we’re changing that.

The truth is simple: Black fathers have always been more than the stereotypes, and now the research finally reflects what our communities have known all along.

This conversation is for every dad, bonus dad, uncle, mentor, mom, grandmother, teacher, and anyone who cares about how our boys and families grow.

🔥 What We’re Diving Into:

• The real numbers behind Black fatherhood (not the myths, not the headlines)

• Why dads shape emotional and academic outcomes in ways we rarely talk about

• How culture, systems, and community either support or limit father involvement

• Practical habits every father, uncle, mentor, or bonus dad can start using immediately

• A new blueprint for confident, connected, community-rooted fatherhood

🎙️ Featuring

Christopher A. Brown
President, National Fatherhood Initiative
Author of The 24:7 Dad: 12 Habits of Confident Fathers

📅 Thursday

⏰ 7PM CT / 8PM ET
🔗 Register: SoulThursdays.com

A free community wellness conversation.

💬

Let’s shift the narrative.
Let’s uplift the truth.
Let’s build fathers — and fathers will build the world.

#Fatherhood #BlackFathers #SoulThursdays #TheDadEffect #CommunityWellness #HealingForTheCulture

FRIDAY — Marriage Rewired Live Presents:

HOLEY • WHOLLY • HOLY

Same sound.
Very different experience.
Which one is shaping your love story?

On Friday, Dec 12 @ 8 PM ET, we’re stepping into a deeper conversation about relationships — not the fluffy stuff, but the interior work most people never talk about.

Whether you’re single, dating, married, navigating heartbreak, or rebuilding trust… this night is going to move something in you.

✨ HOLEY

When unhealed places leak into love.

✨ WHOLLY

When identity, alignment, and self-awareness create emotional maturity.

✨ HOLY

When partnership becomes purpose, peace, and covenant.

This isn’t a lecture.
It’s a full experience — rooted in healing, humor, and truth.

🎶 Music by DJ Calvin

🎙️ Live panel • Games • Open Mic • Real transformation

🔗 FREE Registration:

SoulPodShow.com

#MarriageMinded #SinglesWhoPray #KingdomMarriage #MarriageMinistry
#ChristianSingles #HealthyLove #RelationshipReadiness #LoveLessons

Closing Note

Two nights.
Two conversations meant to strengthen our families, deepen our healing, and reconnect us to each other.

If Soul Thursdays has taught us anything over these last five years, it’s this:

Community changes everything.
And we grow better when we grow together.

Out of our conversations, a new vision is emerging: The Manhood Academy.

This 6-week program (ages 18–28) will equip young Black men with the tools for:

• Mental health & emotional regulation

• Money management & financial growth

• Communication & healthy relationships

• Leadership & community responsibility

• Career direction & education planning

👉 Speaker/Mentor Signup Link

Share

Our recent survey confirmed what we already knew:
✔️ Mental health, finances, and communication are top priorities.
✔️ Mentorship is non-negotiable — 91% called it “very important.”
✔️ Parents want structured curriculum, accountability, and trusted mentors.

That’s where you come in.

We are inviting coaches, mentors, and speakers to submit interest in shaping this program. If you have a message, a method, or a story that can empower young men to stand tall, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Speaker/Mentor Signup Link

Let’s build this together. The next generation is watching — and waiting.

In brotherhood,
Calvin
Founder, Manhood Academy, Soul Thursdays, State of Black Man

🧠 STATE OF BLACK MAN PODCAST
Coming This Week: Reclaiming Black Health with The Black Body Coach

“Most Black professionals aren’t lazy—we’re just stuck in broken systems.” — The Black Body Coach

🔥 New episode dropping soon! This week on State of Black Man, we’re diving deep into a topic that affects every brother trying to thrive: our health—and why reclaiming it means unlearning hustle culture, rejecting toxic systems, and building from a place of rest, nourishment, and power.

Our guest is none other than @theblackbodycoach, the self-proclaimed—and widely celebrated—#1 Black Health + Systems Coach. In this episode, we unpack his personal transformation, the method behind his movement, and the real stories of Black professionals who have reclaimed their bodies, minds, and confidence through his approach.

🧩 What to Expect:

🛤 His Story: From burnout to breakthrough—how his own journey from exhaustion to holistic health became the blueprint for helping others.
🔧 Systems-Based Health: Why diets don’t work and how most Black professionals are trapped in systems that reward overwork and ignore wellbeing.
💪🏾 The Black Body Method™: What it is, who it’s for, and why it’s changing lives.
📈 Real Results: From 25-30 pound weight losses to reclaiming energy, sleep, and self-worth—what these changes really mean beyond the scale.
🎭 Performance Meets Purpose: How his background in acting and coaching creates a truly embodied, culturally attuned approach.
🧠 Tools You Can Use Today: He’ll break down one of his weekly “Black Wellness Tools” and show you how to put it into action immediately.
👁 The Vision: His long-game for transforming not just health, but wealth, identity, and intergenerational possibility.

🎧 Why You Don’t Want to Miss This

This isn’t just another “get healthy” episode. It’s a deep, liberating conversation about reclaiming your body as a sacred site of power, rest, and resistance. Whether you're feeling stuck, tired, or ready to level up, this episode will leave you with clarity, strategy, and real hope.

🎥 Click here to join the livestream
Make sure you’re subscribed to State of Black Man so you don’t miss it.

💡 Until then, follow @theblackbodycoach and think on this:
What systems have you unconsciously adapted to—at the expense of your health?

Want early access and behind-the-scenes notes from the episode?
Subscribe now to State of Black Man on Substack and be part of the conversation.

Subscribe now

✊🏿
This is more than wellness. It’s freedom work.

This episode explores personal experiences, cultural stigmas, and the importance of vulnerability and community support.

We emphasize the need for therapy as a healing tool and the role of the church in advocating for mental health awareness.

This discussion highlights the significance of rest and self-care in maintaining mental well-being, urging listeners to challenge societal norms around masculinity and emotional expression.

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