Nurturing trust, authenticity, and connection with courageous black men

The Circle for
Black Male Mentors

Join a thriving online community of parents, educators, coaches, counselors, community organizers, nonprofit leaders, and change-makers committed to showing up better – individually and collectively – for ourselves, for each other, and for all Black boys.

About The Circle

The Circle for Black Male Mentors is a growth and learning program with a supportive membership community that helps Black men show up better for themselves and realize the true power and promise of their relationships with Black boys.

When you sign up, you’ll kickstart our foundational, text message-based course. You’ll receive one text message a day for three weeks that will guide you through new frameworks for showing up wholeheartedly, give you greater clarity about the role you play, and help you develop the skills and courage necessary to build trustworthy relationships with the Black boys in your life – whether personally or professionally.

As a member of The Circle you’ll also gain access to soulful online conversations each month and our community platform to connect, share perspectives and resources, and engage with other inspiring men from around the country who are doing this important and necessary work.

Apply To Join

Who is this for?

The Circle was designed for a diverse, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary group of Black men willing to learn from each other and support one another as we lean into our own humanity, strive to take care of ourselves, and work hard to show up for Black boys with more integrity, authenticity, and courage.

Parents
Educators
Coaches
Counselors
Community Organizers
Nonprofit Leaders

Why This Program Exists

It’s simple, really. We need each other, and our Black boys need us. We believe the most impactful mentorship happens naturally in everyday settings. With the right resources and a community of support, we all have the capacity to be better stewards of our gifts and great mentors to those around us!

What Black boys need most is for the adults they interact with on a regular basis to show up for the big and small moments ready to listen deeply, seeking to understand before being understood, and creating trustworthy spaces that help them explore their values, dreams, fears, and passions.

As simple as this all sounds, we often struggle to do this in our adult relationships; and it’s even more challenging to do this for the kids in our lives. Let us repeat: this stuff isn’t easy and we can’t do this alone.

We have to lean on one another. To show up in the best ways consistently takes courage, authenticity, integrity, practice, and a like-minded group of folks who have your back. That’s why we started The Circle for Black Male Mentors: to support you in whatever role you play as you work to be the most positive force for hope and joy you can be — for your own sake and for the next generation.

How It Works

1

Sign up and learn

Sign up and you’ll be enrolled in our 21-Day Courageous Mentorship text series. The course includes content and resources geared towards helping you learn more about the foundational principles that guide our approach for building healthy and trustworthy relationships with Black boys.

2

Take the pledge

Once you complete the series, you’ll receive a final message asking you to take the Courageous Mentor’s Pledge, a personal commitment to yourself and your community to live out the lessons you’ve learned and be the positive force the Black boys in your life need you to be.

3

Grow with community

You’ll also gain access to The Circle’s community platform, where you’ll have the opportunity to engage with other community members and take part in monthly online gatherings to nurture connection, share perspectives, receive support, and get inspired by your peers.

Apply To Join

WE HEAR DIRECTLY FROM BLACK BOYS ABOUT THE WAYS WE CAN SHOW UP BETTER FOR THEM

In five years, our nonprofit Brother Box has impacted more than 6,000 Black boys’ lives by creating programs that inspire them to dream big and be their most authentic selves. We’re building a new mentorship model that’s more accessible, more efficient, and more effective – and we’ve got the data to back it up.

94% of boys in our cornerstone program report feeling very encouraged upon completing the program. 92% of them would be highly likely to recommend our program to other boys their age. They’ve also told us what they wish the adults in their lives were doing to better support them: listen, understand, help, and support.

"I think that they could listen a lot more about what we are going through and not be so quick to judge."

- Michael, Age 16

"Not criticize me for making mistakes in life. Help me to realize what I'm doing wrong without being so negative."

- Jhikaleb, Age 12

"If they allowed me to express myself more, they would understand me better."

- Brandon, Age 16

"Asking or initiating conversations about things that I don't always feel comfortable with."

- Michael, Age 14

"I wish I could get more support trying to figure out my place in the world."

- Cairo, Age 11

"Just honestly be there for me and push me to be my very best, because where I live it’s hard to find a good support system."

- Dylan, Age 16

"Just try to listen to what I’m saying and understand from my point of view. Adults and teachers aren’t always right about today's topics."

- Adonis, Age 18

"Be positive, be really encouraging, help out when needed, and just be there for us."

- TJ, Age 16

"Adults should admit to their own mistakes so I can learn from them."

- Derick, Age 13

OUR APPROACH: GROWING AND PRACTICING IN COMMUNITY

Our text message-based course will teach you a set of foundational principles that will help you recognize and honor your own wholeness, open your mind to new ways of interacting with others, and tap into your own deep sense of values and how you want those to show up in your relationships – all in service of building trust and giving our boys the support they need.

Then, we connect you with a community of other incredible Black male mentors that will help you nurture those skills and support you along the way. If we can live out these principles in community with each other, we’ll be better prepared to bring them into the relationships we have with kids, too.

(Our approach is deeply inspired by and adapted from the Center for Courage & Renewal’s time-tested approach for nurturing deep integrity and relational trust. Click here to learn more about the Center for Courage & Renewal.)

Our Foundational Principles

Be present as fully as possible and show up to your relationships with kids as your whole self, including your strengths and your vulnerabilities.

Create welcoming and hospitable space for kids that invites exploration through the guidance of their own inner teacher.

When you don’t understand a child’s perspective, turn to wonder, setting aside judgment and critique to listen more deeply.

Respond with open and honest questions instead of immediate counsel or corrections, helping kids amplify their own guiding wisdom.

Find value in the unknown and trust your ability to learn alongside kids as opposed to always needing to have the answer.

Speak your truth in ways that respect kids’ truth too, understanding and honoring differences in perspective and lived experience.

Nurture safe relationships, honoring every child’s dignity and flattening false hierarchical structures of power and authority.

Know that you have everything within you – in whatever role you hold – to be a guiding light for the kids in your life.

Our Core Values

Authenticity
When we show up as our whole selves, with our gifts and our limits, we build more trustworthy and healthy relationships.

Community
As we honor the interconnectedness of our lives, we’re better able to respond to what the world needs in this moment.

Courage
Only with courage can we persevere and make a difference in spite of the harsh realities of the world we live in.

Curiosity
With a curious mindset we sustain a spirit of openness to different perspectives, ideas, and others’ lived experiences.

Hope
When we live and lead from a place of hope, we inspire others to see the promise in the better world we know is possible.

Bringing more joy, understanding, and hope to our boys’ lives starts with you. Are you ready to join us?

When you sign up you’ll get a year of access to our content, community platform, and monthly online gatherings. Your annual membership fee is an investment in making the world a better place for Black boys everywhere. Your funds help sustain our community building efforts and benefit our other programs that serve Black boys directly.

$60 Annual Membership Apply

  • 21-DAY, TEXT MESSAGE-BASED "COURAGEOUS BLACK MALE MENTORSHIP" COURSE

    Receive a daily message to learn more about the principles that guide our approach for building healthy and trustworthy relationships with kids.

  • ACCESS TO THE CIRCLE OF BLACK MALE MENTORS COMMUNITY PLATFORM

    Engage and connect with like-minded courageous mentors around the country. Start conversations, join special groups based on your background and role, ask questions, and let others know you're here to support them.

  • FACILITATED ONLINE GATHERINGS EACH MONTH FOR CONNECTION AND SUPPORT

    Join facilitated online gatherings every month to nurture support and consistently put the foundational skills you've learned into practice in a communal setting with other courageous mentors.

  • IMPACT IN YOUR INBOX

    Receive impactful stories in your inbox about members of our community around the country demonstrating the transformational power of showing up for kids with in integrity, authenticity, and courage.

"I am convinced that courage is the most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. You can be kind and true and fair and generous and just, and even merciful, occasionally. But to be that thing time after time, you have to really have courage."

Maya Angelou