Prentis Hemphill and Aaron Johnson in Conversation at the Seattle Public Library

"The Black community has been inundated with messaging that leaves us “confused by the culture that dominates our knowing, putting constraints on value rather than allowing us to exist inherently” (Prentis Hemphill).

This messaging causes hopelessness and—as we have learned so far through Aaron’s work—forces the reflexive response of Black men believing they don’t need touch. It forces them to engage with grief in secret, rather than in community."

Read the full piece by Raegan Ballard-Gennrich: Dark and Tender: Healing Black Men with the CUT Project in The Evergreen Echo