NYC educator Alvin Irby is the founder of Barbershop Books, a New York City–based project that puts child friendly reading nooks and a variety of fun and engaging books into neighborhood barbershops, so young Black boys are encouraged to read while they wait for a haircut. With Barbershop Books Irby seeks to connect Black men to Black boys’ early [...]
Here is a great story to talk with your sons about: Zach Hodges, an African-American senior at Harvard University, is one of the top small college draft picks for the upcoming NFL draft. While NFL pundits don't believe he will go early in the draft, they think he has a good chance of getting picked by an NFL team. [...]
Ten African-American poets contributed to the Migration Series Poetry Suite created in celebration of the Jacob Lawrence exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. The works of a few of them are below. Enjoy. Thataway And the migrants kept coming —Jacob Lawrence Was walking. Was walking & then waiting for a train, the 12:40 to [...]
If you live in or anywhere near New York City, or are planning a visit to NYC over the summer, make sure to take your sons and daughters to "One-Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and Other Visions of the Great Movement North" at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). It is a wonderful exhibition that has at its [...]
Common Sense Media, the organization that helps parents navigate the treacherous waters of modern day media and technology, has posted the thoughtful piece "10 Great Role Models for Boys" on its website which you can find here. Included in their list of media role models is Neil DeGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist extrodinaire on "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey". One of our [...]
GCP had breakfast today with a longtime friend who offered a bit of valuable parenting insight which we want to pass along. She is the mother of three children and runs a non profit organization dedicated to educating economically disadvantaged children. We were trading stories about our (college aged) sons at breakfast, and shaking our heads as we focused [...]
This week the world watched the video of Walter Scott being shot and killed by the South Carolina police officer who has since been charged with murder and fired from the force. This week our Thoughtful Thursday offering is focused on justice. L. Chris Stewart, the lawyer the Scott family hired once they learned of the video's existence, had [...]
After a wonderful Spring Break, is GCP back in action with this week's Thoughtful Thursday. Today we feature a classic Gwendolyn Brooks poem, "We Real Cool", written in 1960, and "The Golden Shovel", a poem written in response by Terrance Hayes in 2010. Hayes is a poet who considers themes of popular culture, race, music, and masculinity in his [...]
Parents of teenaged Black boys know about the conversation we are obligated to have with our sons as we send them out into a world in which they can be misjudged and endangered simply because they are teenaged Black boys. Because we need them to stay safe, we know we have to tell them what to do and how [...]