Uptown Notes

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!!

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Hat tip to E. Mari Morales-Williams for sharing this with me.