Nurturing African American Boys’ Success

Mike Browne: It's hard to imagine what Miss Cortina must have been feeling at that moment. Her, a fresh-out-of-college teacher, staring into the faces of 20 Black and Brown children in her preschool classroom at ECE 78. Was she scared, terrified, in over her head? Or was she cool; was she calm and knew exactly how to navigate this world? Out of the hundreds of educators I've had in the last 25 years of formal education, Miss Cortina, along with two other educators, were the only ones who saw me for who I truly was. I was a little energetic but name a 4-year-old who isn't. 

But for her, she didn't see Mike Browne as the object of the lesson. But instead, she saw me and my blackness as the curriculum. She didn't see me as an empty vessel ready to be filled with knowledge, but understood that as a child with immigrant parents, as a child growing up in the hood, that I was already coming to her with the knowledge of the inequities in my environment. She saw that I was capable of influencing the values and ideologies of the learning environment. And rather than destroying that good trouble, that necessary trouble out of me, she nurtured that within me. See, what she saw in me; joyful, daring, gifted, fierce, imaginative, resilient is what she produced out of me. 

Miss Cortina, wherever you are in the world, I thank you. For not being a savior, but for being a believer. For loving my blackness in a world that was struggling and is currently struggling to do so. My friends, colleagues, Head Start familia, are you prepared to do the same? Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to today's Facebook Live event, Nurturing African Americans Boys' Success. My name is Mike Browne. Pronouns; he, him. I'm joined by my sister from another mother, Michelle. How you doing, queen?

Michelle Brown: I am doing well. I am so excited to be here with you this afternoon, Mike. I gotta show you some love. I'm really moved by the story that you just shared.

Mike: Thank you, queen. Michelle, we got a real treat for our Head Start family today. Our village who's with us today, and recommitting themselves to raising a child, because as you know, in Black colloquialism, we often say, "It takes a village to raise a child." And by virtue of being with us today, we really, are part of that village here to support our Black boys. We got a couple of homies joining us today. Michelle, I'm going to let you introduce the first one.

Michelle: You all, we are blessed. I love that colloquialism that saying, from the Black community, "It takes a village to raise a child." I'm happy to be a part of that village. We have today with us Damon Manning. Damon, before you introduce yourself, I probably need to tell people a little bit about myself first. Mike, do you mind? 

Really quickly, the first thing that I want to say is that I feel like it's divine serendipity that I am a part of this conversation this afternoon. Years ago, I helped birth this work around African American boys, but two things that are more important; I incubated with an African American boy, and we are just three minutes apart. And my twin brother shares the name of you, Mike. That's where I feel like -

Mike: The name.

Michelle: - the divine serendipity comes in. I'd love that I’m having this conversation with you. But more important, you see, I have my Head Start mug because I am a proud Head Start teacher for life. I taught 10 years in Head Start — I mean, not 10 years; I taught five years, and I had 10 Head Start classrooms. And I think all three of us are early childhood educators. The last thing that's probably most important, I am here representing as Senior Director of Training the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning. And now I'm about to pass that virtual mic to our first guest, Damon Manning. Damon, handle your business.

Damon Manning: Handle my business.

Michelle: Please.

Damon: Hello, Head Start family, and guest, and friends. My name is Damon Manning. I'm from the Office of Head Start, where I serve as a Senior Project Analyst for Parent, Family, and Community Engagement. I have the pleasure of contributing to the African American Boys project. What brings me to this work, and I as probably about several things, but I want to hold onto one of the things that Mike shared in his story is about the village. I believe in the village and the work that I do is in honor of that village. And that village was one that helped my father, who was a single father, raising two boys, two Black boys: my older brother and myself, in the South in Richmond, Virginia. 

And it was because of that community that wrapped themselves around him and us that provide us with a safe community, that provide us with routines, that provide us with protection and encouragement, and my father, encouragement in raising those boys. I stay that because I believe in the community, and I believe in Head Start because Head Start is an agent of support and change within communities. That's what brings me to this work and one of the reasons why I stay connected to it. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and looking forward to our conversation.

Mike: And since the last time I saw you, we gave you a little - couple more gray hairs, but don't worry.

Damon: That's wisdom.

Mike: That's wisdom. And now joining us is someone who has probably zero gray hairs, is my homie, Romero Wesson, who is a Board Co-chair of Kingmakers of Oakland. Romero, come off of that blank screen and come join us and show us some love around how you coming into the space today.

Romero Wesson: Well, I'm glad to be here. The host has disabled my camera. I think the host needs to go and let my camera come on, but I'm glad to be here. I'm in the space, I'm present, and I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be a part of this great conversation and this great work, and this transformative work that we are doing as a community. I'm glad to be here.

Mike: Thank you, brothers. Thank you, sisters. Thank you, everybody, for being here. You know, building solid relationships is really the key and one of the first strategies listed in the Office for Head Start strategies for culturally responsive strength-based practices for young African American boys. And we're going to just unpack a couple of those during our time together and discuss why it matters. 

But first, if you have any questions, thoughts, comments, aha moments that you want to share with us, please feel free to type it in the chat, and then we'll have some time at the end to answer a few of them. Romero, can you kick us off by just speaking to the significance of relationship-building strategies in fostering the success of young African American boys?

Romero: Definitely. From my personal experience growing up in Oakland Unified School District, born and raised in Oakland, California, our schools didn't have a lot of access to role models, a lot of access to representation of Black male success in the classroom. The culture of the classroom wasn't really befitting for my growth and my evolution as a leader and as a Black man in America. 

Until one day in eighth grade, I was attending Frick Middle School as an eighth grader, and I was in math class, and my counselor came and pulled me out the class, and I thought I was in trouble. Now, mind you, I did skip class early that day. I was supposed to be in trouble. But the counselor ended up taking me to another classroom. It was the manhood development class through the Office of African American Male Achievement at the time. When I walked into the classroom, there was this Black man in a three-piece suit with a nice tie on, nice shoes. 

He said, "sit down, we about to have class." I said, "what? No, not us. I don't know what you're going to teach." This is like detention. It felt like Coach Carter. It was giving, "get out of that classroom as fast as you can." But as I began to sit in that classroom, the lesson for that day was identity. He began to break down identity as a Black man, as a young Black man, in America. He began to teach, Africa, and the origin story, and where we really come from, and the things that we are known for, the things that we have innovated and curated and created. 

It begins to just take my mind to a whole another level. Since that day, I've been connected with him as my eighth-grade manhood teacher all up until today. That's almost 10 years of relationship that I have with him. His teachings that he had instilled in me, I'm able to give to my little brothers, I'm able to give to the brothers in the community, in the workplace, everywhere that I go. Fostering relationships is important and what you're teaching is important to the evolution of that child. 

I believe that if we're building a relationship, it has to be culturally relevant. You have to be really talking to that child and figuring out their interests and start to stimulate who they are and their inner greatness. I always tell teachers and educators that they are spiritual, educational midwives. If you're not helping that child give birth to their inner greatness, then you are failing as an educator, and you are failing yourself. So that's the importance of building a relationship. That's just my little piece.

Mike: What I feel like I should do is give you some of this gray hair, because that wisdom that you just dropped on us, oh my God, oh my goodness.

Michelle: I love it. Ssince I'm the old lady, the elder statesman, and the former Head Start teacher on the call, I just want to reflect back what I heard you say, Romero, if you don't mind. And I love it. ZERO TO THREE, our mothership organization, our CEO, Matthew Melmed has said for years, and this is me paraphrasing, he has said, how a child feels is equally as important as a child thinks. Then years ago when I was student teaching in Head Start, my professor used to say to me, and this wasn't her quote per se, but she used to say this to me all the time, "only if a child feels right can he think right." 

And it sounds like your teacher really instilled you feeling good emotionally, socially, through authentic relationships. And one thing that I remember for sure, and this was sage advice from one of my professors as well, is that, if you really want to know a child, and we talking about Black boys now, if you really want to know who a Black boy is as a learner, you've got to know who he is first as a person and as a human being, and be an authentic relationship with him. I love that what you shared. I'm a cheese ball. I have to hold up my heart as well. Now, Mike, I'll pass it back to you. 

Did we want Damon? I feel like we need Damon to weigh in on this strategy as well. And let me do this before you do, Damon. I almost called you Mony, your nickname, but I'm going to behave myself. Don't forget, I'm still a cornball teacher for life. Our folks are putting in the chat about our resources, our Head Start strategies for culturally responsive strengthening practices that you heard Mike mention. Make sure you look for that link. And Damon — yeah, there, it is. Yes. Okay, Mony, go ahead and take over and share what you were going to share about relationships, if you don't mind.

Damon: One of the things that come to mind in terms of one of the things that we do really well in Head Start and put it in the context of working with African American boys is our work in partnering with families. Whether it's from the time we do our first home visits all the way to when we actually meet families with recruitment events and registration and enrollment; there's this opportunity for us in terms of being very intentional with the questions that we ask and the conversations that we have with families to gain that funds of knowledge. 

Or understanding those practices, understanding those experiences socially, understanding those traditions and so on, and beginning to use that knowledge, and not only like documenting it, but having a way of actually infusing that into the way that we design our program, create our curriculum — I mean implement our curriculum, determine our curriculum, and the experiences that we have in our program. That creates the journey that young children navigate and their families. 

What that looks like when we create those experiences and take that information is that it influences the lullabies that we sing in our early Head Start classrooms when we are changing diapers. It becomes part of the conversation when we share and give them the internal scripts of how beautifully and wonderfully that they're made, the colors of their skin, how their features are set upon their faces, the abilities that they have. 

I call those, one of the things is that it's their superpower; something that they can continue to tell and continue to keep with them as young African American boys, and that will help them to continue to be able to comfort themselves or reassure themselves. I have a great smile; someone cannot take away that smile. My skin is beautiful; no one can deny that. I have the ability to be very social. I'm very active. I'm very strong. 

Those types of things that they can continue to tell themselves in their spaces as they navigate, as they connect with individuals, I think that that becomes strong. That becomes very powerful. The last thing I would say that is in those relationships, we also find out from our parents, what are their hopes and dreams for their children? That begins also to help — and even concerns. 

That also becomes the way that we interact with them, the way we design our parent engagements, our parent groups, our trainings, and so on, if you will. we are creating that village. We build that relationship so that we can continue to design and modify — not modify, but design our program, if you will, and build it, and make it cater to the families that we serve in honor of and in support of our African American boys.

Michelle: May I join in, you guys, really quickly? Damon, I can do it again with the heart, but I heard a few things from you. And there's a few things you said that resonated with me and made me think about a few things. We know parents and families are first and most important teachers. We know that in Head Start, Damon, my early childhood hero, Urie Bronfenbrenner, our founding father, I think he coined that term anyways.

I think for Black boys, when you're in close partnership with parents and families, you ensure a continued and forever season of growth for them. And then we know for sure there's so much data out there that speaks to when schools and programs, we going to talk about our program, Head Start programs, are in close partnership with families. 

You know I'm about to be a cheese ball again and use my term then that means the bomb diggity outcomes for our boys. And we know bomb diggity, if we looked it up in the urban Dictionary, it means awesomeness in its purest form. Thank you for sharing those things. I'm really excited about that. And I just want to pause for a minute and see if our gentlemen if Romero or Mike had something to say about this as well.

Mike: You know what? What's coming up for me is something I heard so clearly is actually something that you didn't say, Damon. And that's how building relationships; that bond, that communication, that home program partnership, isn't just boiled down to what's written at the beginning of the year. Whether that's in our intake form or in their application because what they wrote in September might not always hold true in December or February or May. 

That relationship-building piece is built from the streets. It's in the community room. It's understanding who they are, where they come from, their hopes and dreams, not just for the child, but like you said, the hopes and dreams for the parents and caregivers. Who do they want to be? How do they want to show up for their child? Also, what are the trauma that they might have with the educational system? And then most importantly, where are they in their healing journey? And you don't get that from a piece of paper. You get that from caring about them, about, by mattering, that mattering piece about them. And most importantly, you see that by seeing the humanity in them, not just in your 9:00 to 5:00, that's easy, but in your 24/7.

Damon: Mike, can I add real quick, I apologize, Romero. I want to add as it relates to our staff and our caregivers who are entrusted with having these conversations with our young children, with our Black boys and their families, for us as programs to also create spaces where they are able to become comfortable with saying those same things, are able to identify their superpower and becoming comfortable with telling themselves that they have that superpower. Because then it also becomes part of the culture that young children also begin to witness, and to understand, and to model. They become the models for our young children too. Let's all become, you know, aware of our own superpowers in honor of the work that we do with young children.

Romero: I'll add this piece. In terms of relationships, I think that we have to create spaces for Black boys to unapologetically just be who they are. I think sometimes we try and force them into this identity that society wants them to fit. We find ourselves trying to make them fit into society when by natural and by right, we're not meant to fit in. And nobody is meant to fit in. We're all meant to be unapologetically us, authentically us. I think if we start creating spaces for Black boys to speak their truth, be their truth, and show their truth, and showcase their truth, then that goes a long way. 

Just that moment of saying, "brother Damon gave me a space to just share this poem, and now I can take this poem to all of these other conventions and all these other places and speak all over the world." That's how it started for me. I was given the opportunity to speak. I've been with Kingmakers of Oakland for like the last, I mean 10 years of my life. It all started out as a youth ambassador for the Student Leadership Council program. 

I was able to travel with Christopher Chatmon across the country speaking at different conventions, which then led to where I am now. It opened so many doors, it was just because he created space for me to be. I think that if we start creating spaces for people to just be, then we will start to see healing on a whole other level. We'll start to see a whole other level of love and a whole other level of just gratitude and satisfaction because we're all looking for fulfillment, but that comes from just being. Just be you and you become fulfilled. I think that's just the piece I'll add.

Michelle: Well, Romero, if you guys don't mind, quickly, there I go being that bossy Head Start teacher. OK, listen, I want to ask you something. I've heard you talk about where you work now. I have to do this disclaimer. I already claimed being the elder states person on this call, and I think maybe you were more recently in school than I was. I just want to ask, if you don't mind, if you want to think about maybe one way, and thank you for letting me put you on the spot, that homeschool partnership, like how did your program, whether it was school, like early elementary, how did they support your parents and be feeling comfortable in being involved and having the lead voice in that partnership for you to ensure your success?

Romero: I come from a single mother household. My mother had six boys, so she wasn't just raising me, she was raising five others like me and like themselves and like everybody else. It took a lot of this. The programs that I was in, they surrounded me around a plethora of mentors and men because I didn't have my biological father present in my life. 

That void that I lived with for years over time was starting to be filled by different men and their perspectives on life and their advice, and their wisdom. Just this access to limitless wisdom played a part for my mother because it took a lot of the weight off of her. A lot of the things that she had to carry by herself, she didn't have to really necessarily carry as much anymore because there were now people in place to catch me when I fell or keep me on track. 

She didn't have to monitor everything or micromanage my entire life because there were men provided that helped her help me become who I am. That gave her time to focus on the three younger ones. The ones that were in first, and kindergarten, and second grade, and third grade. She was able to focus on the babies while me and my other brother were being taken care of by being monitored and mentored by the men that we were surrounded by. And that magnitude of love I think a lot of Black boys are longing for the love of a father. 

I think once that love is met, once you are now introduced to that love, and you start to feel that love, and you start to embody that, it shifts the whole dynamic of your life. And I think that with those men that were in my life, it shifted my life, which then I'm able to shift my brother's lives, I'm able to support my mother in ways that I couldn't support before having people in my life to show me how to do what to do, how to be. It helped my mother carry less of the weight of raising a Black boy if that makes sense.

Mike: Always does. Thank you. Thank you. And speaking on that flip side, right, because I know your personal story, Damon, and how your dad was a present and powerful caregiver. And he was raising you and your brothers alone, which furthers debunk this myth of the absent Black father. Now, as I look at you as a father-like figure for over hundreds of children that you've taken care of in your learning environment, your classroom, my question to you is, what do you hope they say about you as an educator and as a man in their lives?

Damon: Well, without getting emotional since you just asking that question, I think what comes to mind, and this comes from my father, in honor of my father and part of who I am, just quickly that I was patient and that I always listened. I've heard that from young men that I've worked with and I realized, and I've received that from parents when they have thanked me for those experiences, that interaction with their child. 

That is one thing I just want to make sure that I would - that young children take away from that is they acknowledge or — not acknowledge, that they realize or that they understand or celebrate the fact that I was very patient, and I listened. And that's intentional. Thank you. Michelle, go ahead.

Michelle: Yeah. May I butt in? I butt in before I asked. I know I do that. I said, Mony, because you know, folks we have a professional and a personal relationship. And I know one thing that we share in common is that we benefited immensely from father love. The thing that I know about you for sure as you just described your experiences with the folks that you mentor and have father-like relationships with you. What I have seen over the years that I've seen you, you provide first is love, affection, protection, correction, and redirection. And hearing you describe that brought all those memories back to me, what I benefited from with my dad, but actually seeing you in action with those folks. Thank you for sharing that with us.

Damon: Thank you, Michelle. Thank you, Mike, for the question.

Michelle: You're welcome. Mike, should we see Romero? I know you explained that you were raised by a single mom, but you had male mentors. Was there one last thing that you might want to share about a male mentor before we close out? And if not, that's fine. I know I put you on the spot.

Romero: No, it's OK. That's what we're here for, to be on the spot. I think here's what I would say. We have to provide representation on every level in education, there has to be representation. And because the thing is you don't know what to be if you never see it. And if you never see it, then it's like you don't know if it exists, you don't know how to tap into it, you don't know how to find it, you don't know how to seek it. 

I think that if — where there's representation, there's a chance that somebody else will take on the mantle, that you'll be able to, you know, cultivate somebody to carry the baton because there's representation. I think that that's how we create changes by representation and then passing down the baton to the next leader, to the next group of leaders, the next cohort of politicians, and teachers, and business owners, and everything. For me, it's all about representation. Where there's representation, there's growth. That's my little closing piece.

Michelle: Thank you.

Mike: I want us to, we're in our last kind of two to three remaining minutes, is just send us out with each of us taking maybe about 30 seconds to just share a message to the Black boy that lives inside each of you all, or to the Black boys that are part of your village. What message would you send to them? Let's start with Michelle, then we'll pop it over to Romero and then Damon.

Michelle: I'm going to base my closing on what I see in this chat where somebody said, "how can those of us in the village support young African American boys and create spaces for them?" That love, affection, protection, correction, redirection today, right now, as soon as you get off this call, start with love and be strength-based. See their assets first and understand that they are good people and have a lot to offer. Thank you all. Let you guys take over from here.

Romero: What would I say? You are somebody. I don't know what you going to be when you grow up. I don't know what you going to do when you grow up, but whenever you do it, it's going to be great. I don't care what you do, just go out and do it, because that's what you was born to do. Going to be somebody, remember that. You going to be somebody. I'm going to look back and say, "give me your autograph. Can I take a picture with you?" 

You going to be somebody? Definitely. And I would say, along those lines is that I see you. I see you in all your perfections, in all your determinations, in all that you strive to be. And since I have 30 — well, I'll take 15 seconds. I do want to share this one passage from one of my favorite books, "I Am Every Good Thing" by Derrick Barnes. I just share this real quick, this passage: "you are a nonstop ball of energy, powerful and full of light. You are a go-getter, a difference-maker, a leader. You are every good thing that makes the world go round, you know, like gravity or the glow of moonbeams over field, a brand-new snow. You are good to the core like the center of a cinnamon roll. Yeah, you're just that good.”

Mike: Man, I knew I should have went first, now I got to follow you all. I think first of all; I would say I love you. We don't ever get to hear that from ourselves. And as I talk to my inner Black boy and certainly, you know, we don't hear, I love you, enough from society. A society that will continue to pose upon us the social, physical, spiritual restrictions that communicates to us all the ways in which we should be. You should be like this, you should look like that, Black boy, you should act like this. You should just shut up and dribble. 

I'm here to remind you — and I say remind because this isn't nothing new. It might have just been forgotten, but your right as a Black boy, as a Black king is to be joyful and daring and imaginative and all those different words that Miss Cortina that I spoke about earlier in how I started off today, all the things that Miss Cortina whispered to me. And that right isn't a right to be earned. Dawg, it's your birthright, your dreams matter, your presence matter, and your worth will always matter to me and to the village who has joined us on this call today. 

I want to give it up; my love, my gratitude, my thanks and send my roses to you; Romero, Damon and Michelle and everyone who joined us today. We are wrapping it up in about the next 30 seconds, but this isn't going to be the last time that you see our faces. Michelle, when is our next Facebook Live event?

Michelle: Quickly and expeditiously, we're going to see you all on April 18. Right there, see our backdrop, and we're going to talk about supporting multiracial children, OK? See you soon.

Mike: Let’s make sure that we stay connected by exploring the resources that we popped into the chat. We'll do that one more time, as well as our Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, and by joining MyPeers. If you have any questions, comments, feel free to contact us at the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning. Thank you, everyone, once again. Take care and we'll see you next time.