A Powerful Perspective

Brothers as Allies, a curriculum from The Council for Boys and Young Men, is a program that changed my life forever. Four years ago I was struggling to find my identity. Hungry for a chance to have real interactions with youth. To truly be in the field and help. Help every student I encounter get at least .01% closer to their dreams. Some may see a small percentage, but the trajectory that shifts from the curricula provided by One Circle Foundation literally saves lives. 

It saved mine.

In the midst of my partnership with Brothers as Allies, I’ve experienced some of the most traumatic and challenging circumstances in my journey to becoming the man I dreamed about as a child. 

The most important role the program has played for me, is actually for me. The motivation to be a part of OCF is to help students, and through helping students it taught me a lot about myself. It put me in a position to be vulnerable and accountable. Through that, it built a unique bond to students in ways that strengthen the pupil-instructor bond. We broke down the wall between adults & students and humanized the experience of raw emotions. 

In a healthy, safe, unified manner. 

Consider the last two years. We started 2020 with Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and other families tragically transitioning. Followed by Ahmad Arberry & Breonna Taylor, in the midst of a Global pandemic that quarantined billions. Then we watched the murder of George Floyd. Eight minutes and 32 seconds of pure hatred and complete disregard for human existence.

Adults lived through it, and so did the generations growing up. They’re aware, and the impact of all these experiences is exactly why OCF needs the right support, the right bodies in motion to help our youth.

Especially the young men. How as a man can anyone truly navigate in this modern time? The only “safe chase” for men is financial security. What comes with that is not fulfillment. It is not acceptance. It brings only a level of safety, without any security. It’s been proven. No coincidence that some of the stories from the first five months of 2020 are men. Black men. Or might I say, “were.” Because they’re not here. And as a man, I understand how challenging it is for me to navigate in a space of that reality. Tis’ why it is essential to amplify the mission with Brothers as Allies. 

OCF curriculum consistently provides a blueprint to help improve small, daily habits that create systems for young men to thrive in. I’ve witnessed firsthand multiple instances of how OCF is helping and saving lives. Now let’s help more young men become better, which I guarantee results in more families staying together, more lives being saved, and a lot more dreams becoming reality.