Black Men Talk. Six Years of My Black Men Matter Series Proves It.
By Lana Reid, Founder and President of Conversations in Color, Host of the Black Men Matter Series
Before I hit record, I tell every man the same thing: “Today we are going to talk about how amazing you are.” Almost every time, they chuckle. Not the thank-you kind of laugh, but the uncomfortable one. The laugh that says no one says that to me very often. That reaction is exactly why I have stayed committed to creating space for Black men to be seen and heard.
Now in its sixth year, my Black Men Matter interview series has documented hundreds of conversations with Black men across the country. I have sat down with educators, entrepreneurs, community leaders, authors, mental health professionals, and men who have made mistakes but turned their lives around to lead and mentor others. As far as I know, I am the only Black woman who has interviewed this many Black men, this consistently, for this long. What I have learned cuts through the propaganda that insists Black men do not talk, that Black men and Black women cannot get along, and that Black men are disengaged.
I have seen the opposite. Given space to be affirmed, Black men do not just talk. They pour out their passions and their hearts without hesitation.
Myths vs. Reality
The mainstream keeps selling the same story: Black men are silent, closed off, and emotionally unavailable. Six years of Black Men Matter proves that story false. When I book interviews, I tell guests it will take about thirty minutes. More often than not, we are still talking an hour later. These are not rehearsed conversations with staged answers. The men show up without preparation, trust me to guide the conversation, and open up fully.
If you scroll social media long enough, you would think Black men and Black women are locked in an endless gender war. Six years of listening has taught me that this narrative is also untrue. I have heard Black men speak about their wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters with deep respect and love. They speak about collaboration, not conflict. The men I interview are clear that they feel a responsibility to stand alongside Black women, not against them.
The Trust Factor
The foundation of Black Men Matter is trust. Most of these men do not know me personally. They do not see the questions in advance. Yet they still give me their stories. In a society that punishes Black men for vulnerability, these interviews show what happens when men are placed in a space that is safe enough for honesty.
That trust has given me a front-row seat to truths that rarely make headlines. Black men are leaders. Black men are family men. Black men are healing. Black men care deeply about the communities around them.
Who They Really Are
Across six years, Black Men Matter has introduced me to a landscape of brilliance. Men building schools. Men running nonprofits. Men leading therapy sessions. Men writing books. Men starting businesses and mentoring the next generation.
These men are qualified, capable, and engaged. They are not exceptions. They are the rule. The problem is that the mainstream refuses to show it. Instead, we are flooded with the same narrow stereotypes until even our own communities begin to believe that the few toxic images placed before us represent the majority.
My archive tells another story. Black men are everywhere, doing the work, loving their families, and leading their communities.
What Six Years Has Taught Me
Hosting Black Men Matter has reshaped me and healed me in unexpected ways. I have learned that affirmation matters. Tell a man he is amazing and he may laugh at first, but the words land. I have learned that silence is not disinterest. It is often the result of not having a safe space to speak. I have learned that when you put a microphone in front of a Black man and make it clear you want his truth, he will give you more than you expect.
Most of all, I have learned that the myths about Black men are not just wrong. They are intentional. They are the result of disinformation, manipulative storytelling, and deceptive framing. I have six years of conversations that prove otherwise.
An Affirmation
Black Men Matter is not just the name of my series. It is the truth I have witnessed hundreds of times. Sometimes the world refuses to see it. Sometimes even their own communities or loved ones do not recognize it. But I know better because I have been listening for six years straight.
I will keep saying it until it no longer feels radical to say it out loud. Black men matter, and they are amazing.