Reimagining Black Masculinities

The public’s imagination of Black men and masculinities often draws from racist attitudes, depictions, and distortions that neglect/exclude narratives of healing, self-love, vulnerability, and joy. Join us on Friday, February 5 from 3-4:15 p.m. as we create space for and with Black men to reflect on and engage in conversation on the beauties, complexities, and possibilities of Black masculinities. Hosted by ODI and curated by Nana Brantuo. #BlackMasculinitiesUMD

Panelists:

• Andrew Charles Ricketts, a NY-based writer and content creator. He has bylines with The Daily Beast, BET, Level Magazine, Medium, Big Black Commentary, Uproxx, and more. He writes about how pop culture shapes and reflects identity. He is co-founder of Main Point Media, a network dedicated to celebrating the creativity of the African Diaspora.
• Francisco Perez, a solidarity economy activist, educator and researcher currently pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He is the Director of the Center for Popular Economics, a nonprofit collective of political economists whose programs and publications demystify the economy and put useful economic tools in the hands of people fighting for social and economic justice.
• Javier Wallace, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. He researches issues surrounding race, class, gender, nationality, labor migration, human trafficking, and transnationalism of athletes from the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. He is the founder of Black Austin Tours and co-founder of AfroLatino Travel.
• Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, an M.D. candidate, researcher, writer, and podcaster with a focus on health equity. His research interests lie at the intersection of urban design and policy, drug policy and population health outcomes. He is the host of a podcast focusing on health disparities called “Flip The Script.”
• Dr. Quincy T. Mills (event moderator), an associate professor of history at UMD and author of “Cutting Along the Color Line: Black Barbers and Barber Shops in America.” Dr. Mills specializes in 20th-century African American business and social movement history and is currently working on a new book entitled “The Wages of Resistance: Financing the Black Freedom Movement.”