We’re telling our young men to be tough, strong, and to not show their emotions, but is that really the right message?

In our society, we’re teaching our sons that vulnerability is a weakness.  Historically, we’ve taught all of our sons that society has a certain pigeon hole in which masculinity must fit into.  However, in the black community, it’s even more complex than that.  You can’t show weakness, but you can’t be too strong either.  You can’t be sad, but you can’t be angry either.  You have to be tough enough to protect your family, but not too tough as to intimidate your white neighbors.  It’s creating a sandwich in which it is very difficult for our young black men to understand where and how they fit into our society.

In this week’s episode of “The Journey of My Mother’s Son” podcast, I talk with another PCA trainer, Cameron Campbell of Houston, Texas.

Affectionately known as Coach Cam, he is a servant, sports enthusiast and social entrepreneur who has spoken more than a thousand times for various sports and philanthropic organizations including the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a former division one (D1) football athlete and graduate of the University of Houston who transformed his passion for sports into a career serving students as an Athletic Director and Head Coach where he was recognized as the all-time winningest coach. He is currently empowering others as a business consultant through his brand, Coach Cam and is the owner of Texas Athletics Construction, which is the epitome of social entrepreneurship.

He recently released his highly anticipated book, Alpha Redefined, in 2019.

We continue the conversation on race and talk about how we need to reevaluate how we look at things like history class in schools, police training, and how we’re raising our young men in society.

Both video and audio only versions are available by clicking on the links below: