Empowering Minds: Bridging the Gap Between Math and the Black Community – guest Akil Parker
By Lana Reid | May 1, 2024
As part of the Black Men Matter Series, Lana Reid sits down with Akil Parker, CEO of All This Math, LLC, to discuss bridging the gap between math and the Black community. Akil shares how shifting the way math is taught and perceived can help students build confidence, overcome fear, and recognize math as a practical life skill rather than an abstract obstacle. The conversation explores how education, mindset, and representation play a role in academic success and long-term opportunity.
In this episode of The Male Perspective, Akil Parker offers an engaging and empowering conversation on math education, access, and mindset.
Akil explains how many students develop anxiety and negative self-beliefs around math early in life, often due to how the subject is introduced. He discusses how All This Math works to reframe math as approachable, relevant, and achievable by meeting students where they are and connecting math concepts to everyday life.
Throughout the conversation, Lana Reid and Akil explore the importance of representation and encouragement in education. Akil reflects on how seeing Black educators and leaders in STEM spaces can shift expectations and expand what students believe is possible. He emphasizes that math literacy impacts far more than academics, influencing problem-solving skills, confidence, and decision-making throughout life.
The discussion also highlights parental and community involvement. Akil shares how families and educators can support students by changing language around math, reducing fear, and reinforcing that struggle is part of learning, not a sign of inability.
This episode reinforces the idea that empowering students in math is not just about numbers, but about access, confidence, and equipping young people with tools that influence every area of their lives.
About the Guest
Akil Parker is the CEO of All This Math, LLC, an educational company focused on making math accessible, engaging, and confidence-building for students. His work centers on reshaping how math is taught and understood within the Black community through education, encouragement, and practical application.
For more information on Akil Parker:
https://www.allthismath.com
http://www.youtube.com/c/AllThisMath
https://www.instagram.com/allthismath
https://www.facebook.com/allthismath-106937650951720
http://www.twitter.com/allthismath
https://www.amazon.com/How-Use-All-This-Math/dp/B0C87VKP5P
About the Series
This episode is part of the Black Men Matter Series, highlighting Black men who are educators, entrepreneurs, and advocates working to expand opportunity, challenge narratives, and support community growth through education.
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 Color’s Current Initiatives
THE MALE PERSPECTIVE
The purpose of The Male Perspective is to dispel stereotypes and increase awareness of the experiences of Black men through open discussions, thought-provoking interviews, and the sharing of personal experiences that highlight the diversity and depth of the Black male experience.
SISTAS REBUILDING SISTERHOOD
Sistas Rebuilding Sisterhood is an intergenerational community of Black women who come together for relaxed, non-judgmental gatherings to exchange ideas, share experiences, and collaborate in a collective effort to improve the quality of sisterhood interactions in everyday life.
TAPESTRY OF BLACK VOICES AWARDS
The Tapestry of Black Voices Awards honors local communities and showcases the creativity, brilliance, and lived experiences of Black voices across the United States.