A fuller picture of who we are
Too often, the picture of African American men that reaches the public is shaped by conflict, crisis or spectacle. News coverage and reality television can leave a young person with a narrow view of his own community, and of what his future might hold.
We created Good Black Men to make more of our achievement visible. Across America, Black men have built businesses, created work that moves audiences, and devoted their lives to their communities. Their contributions deserve a place in everyday conversation and in the stories we pass on to our children.
Pride, with somewhere to go
We want younger generations to grow up knowing the best of us. A name in a textbook or a face on a screen can become the beginning of a much bigger question: could I do something like that?
That is why we tell the stories behind the accomplishments. Knowing what a man achieved is useful. Learning how he found his direction, developed his skills and kept working gives a young reader more to draw on when choosing a path of his own.
There is room here for the child who wants to start a company and the teenager who has yet to discover what interests him. We hope a family will find someone new to talk about over dinner, or a teacher will find a story that reaches a student. Pride can give a person the confidence to begin. A good example can help him decide where.
A living record of contribution
Good Black Men brings together notable African American men in business, entertainment and public life, alongside men whose work in their communities deserves a wider audience. Some names will be familiar. Others may introduce you to a field, an achievement or a life you had never encountered.
We want this record to keep growing as we discover more stories worth telling. The past belongs here because it helps explain the opportunities available today. Men working now belong here because their choices and contributions are still unfolding.
Share the stories. Widen the possibilities.
This collection is for anyone who wants a fuller understanding of Black achievement. We especially want it to reach the young people who deserve more examples of what they can become.
Choose a story that stays with you and share it with someone younger. Ask what interests them about that life. Help them find out what the work involves and where they could begin. That is the kind of conversation we hope Good Black Men makes possible.