Behind the Mask, Mentoring & the Power of Community for Boys | Ashanti Branch
By Lana Reid | April 15, 2026
As part of the Black Men Matter Series, Lana Reid sits down with Ashanti Branch, founder and executive director of Ever Forward Club, to discuss the lunch conversations that sparked what would become more than two decades of mentoring, emotional development work, and youth leadership support. Branch reflects on what those early conversations with young men revealed about the need for community and explains how programs such as the Ever Forward Club, Peer Mentoring Club, and Social Emotional Leadership Academy now help students build trust, accountability, and emotional awareness.
In this episode of The Male Perspective, Ashanti Branch explores how mentoring began with something simple: making space for young men to talk honestly during lunch and listening closely to what they were carrying beneath the surface.
Branch explains that those early conversations revealed a deep need for belonging, emotional language, and trusted adult guidance. What started informally grew into the Ever Forward Club, a long-running mentoring model that now supports boys through structured leadership development, peer accountability, and emotional growth.
Throughout the discussion, Lana Reid and Ashanti Branch examine how the organizationโs work extends beyond mentoring alone. Branch discusses programs such as the Peer Mentoring Club and the Social Emotional Leadership Academy, both designed to help students strengthen trust, develop self-awareness, and learn how to navigate difficult emotions without shame.
A major part of the conversation centers on the now widely recognized Million Mask Movement, an outgrowth of the Taking Off the Mask Workshop, where participants write on physical masks what they show the world on the outside and what they carry privately on the inside. Branch explains how this process gives boys and men language for fears, pain, expectations, and identity struggles that often remain unspoken.
He also discusses long-term outcomes, including Ever Forwardโs strong graduation results, and why emotional honesty remains central to healthy leadership development. The conversation touches on how educators are trained through Ever Forwardโs professional development work and how tools such as the Adventure Card Game help extend emotional learning into practical conversation.
Branch emphasizes that boys often respond when adults create environments where honesty is not punished. He argues that consistent presence, community support, and emotional permission remain among the strongest tools available for helping young people grow.
This episode offers a thoughtful look at mentoring, emotional literacy, and why community-based support continues to matter deeply in the lives of boys and young men.
About the Guest
Ashanti Branch is founder and executive director of Ever Forward Club, a youth mentoring organization focused on emotional development, leadership, and educational success. He is also creator of the Million Mask Movement, which uses mask work to help people examine hidden emotions and identity.
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https://everforwardclub.org
https://www.instagram.com/everforwardclub
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ever-forward-club/
https://www.facebook.com/everforwardclub
https://www.youtube.com/@everforwardclub
About the Series
This episode is part of the Black Men Matter Series, highlighting Black men whose leadership, ideas, and lived experiences deepen public understanding of mentorship, identity, and community responsibility.
About the Host & Organization
The Male Perspective is hosted by Lana Reid, founder of Conversations in Color, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) grassroots organization dedicated to providing uplifting and community-building spaces of dialogue for Black voices.
Conversations in Colorโs Current Initiatives
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