Black Men Smile® Presents an Intimate Conversation on Black Male Vulnerability, Compassion, and Healing
CJ Sykes and Chris Classic in conversation.
Black Men Smile® teamed up with Atlanta artist Dr. Fahamu Pecou to co-host a conversation on Black male vulnerability, compassion and healing on Feb. 20, 2021.
A group of four Black men from diverse backgrounds and professions engaged in an intimate and, at times, deeply personal dialogue with the goals of generating self healing and inspiring other Black men to embrace their own journey toward healing themselves.
The event served as an interactive accompaniment to Pecou’s art installation “The Space Between”. Pecou’s installation, on display at Hambidge’s Cross-Pollination Art Lab in Atlanta through March 6th, “seeks to mitigate intergenerational trauma within Black masculinity by both imaging and normalizing expressions of care, concern, and compassion between and amongst Black men.” The installation centers around an interactive mirror which reflects affirming expressions of love to the viewer.
Black Men Smile® founder Carlton Mackey organized and lead the conversation and drew upon his professional experience as a professor and workshop facilitator when crafting the unconventional experience.
“I wanted the audience and participants to have a transformative encounter that would lead to a shared experience of discovery,” Mackey said. “Much of my work is about leadership cultivation and personal development. I really blended together three signature exercises from other Black Men Smile® workshops to make an altogether different experience, just for that evening.”
Rather than serving up broad questions about Black male vulnerability, Mackey opened the conversation by inviting each panelist to tell the audience “what’s important for the audience to know about you?”
The panelists, in turn, rose to the occasion and dove into their truth headfirst.
“I still have difficulties with confidence and acceptance, panelist and educator Brantley Simmons answered. “Being an educator, you're always second guessing yourself. You find yourself making mistakes and as a human you find yourself focusing on the mistakes.”
Mackey also asked a question that’s central to the brand mission of Black Men Smile®, “What makes you smile?”
Joshua Dingle, graphic designer and creator of A Marvelous Black Boy Art Show replied, “This right here makes me smile. I am an advocate for human connection. This whole pandemic … with everything being virtual, that's cool. That's cute. But there's nothing like being here with you, being able to look you in the eye.”
Actor CJ Sykes responded, “Unconditional love makes me smile. And that's not just love that comes my way, I like seeing when love happens to other people. When I can find a character that I can love or a script that I can love.”
Mackey’s final exercise for the men was in close dialogue with the mirror feature in Pecou’s art installation. The panelists were asked to turn to each other and tell themselves what they “need to hear in this moment” while looking at another man as if they were looking into a mirror. Mackey dubbed the exercise, “looking at you, seeing me.”
“It's ok. It's ok to create. It's ok to be. It's ok to feel. It's okay to not have everything right now. Your love is pure. What you create is nice because it comes from you,” said panelist and Savoir Faire founder Chris Classic during the exercise.
For more insights, watch the entire panel discussion below: