Community Empowerment Through
Black Men Healing Conference
Day One
Thursday, June 25th
9 am to 4:30 pm
Dr. Carl L. Young, PhD Behavioral Health & Organizational Leadership Author, A Son’s Reckoning With Family
“A Son’s Reckoning With Family: Trauma, Truth-Telling, and the Path Toward Community Healing”
Dr. Young uses his memoir A Son’s Reckoning With Family as a narrative framework to explore how trauma shapes the mental, physical, and spiritual health of Black individuals, families, and communities. Through a blend of storytelling, clinical insight, and culturally grounded dialogue, he will examine how unresolved trauma across generations impacts identity, relationships, emotional regulation, and community functioning.
Morning Workshops
Dr. Carl L. Young, PhD Behavioral Health & Organizational Leadership Author, A Son’s Reckoning With Family
"A Son’s Reckoning With Family: Trauma, Truth-Telling, and the Path Toward Community Healing"
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This workshop uses my memoir A Son’s Reckoning With Family as a narrative framework to explore how trauma shapes the mental, physical, and spiritual health of Black individuals, families, and communities. Through a blend of storytelling, clinical insight, and culturally grounded dialogue, participants will examine how unresolved trauma across generations impacts identity, relationships, emotional regulation, and community functioning.
Drawing from themes in the memoir, the session will highlight trauma-informed, culturally responsive approaches that center social connection, ritual, and collective transformation. Participants will engage in reflective exercises, guided discussion, and community-building practices that illuminate how personal healing contributes to communal repair.
Angela R. Fields, Founder/CEO, Community Health Worker Concepts
Alex Abraha is the Founder of Restorative Selam Strategies
" Healing the Whole Man: Rebuilding Strength, Restoring Community”
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Explores how Community Health Workers (CHWs) are leading community-based efforts to address the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of Black men.
This interactive workshop examines the impact of unhealed trauma on individuals, families, and communities and highlights culturally responsive, trauma-informed strategies that support healing and resilience. Participants will gain practical tools to integrate restorative practices, emotional regulation, and community engagement into programs that strengthen individuals, support families, and promote collective healing.
Learning Objectives:
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Understand the ripple effects of unhealed trauma in African American communities and its impact on families and systems.
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Apply culturally sensitive, trauma-informed approaches to support individual and community healing.
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Identify practical strategies CHWs use to provide education, resource navigation, mentoring, and peer support.
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Integrate techniques from restorative justice and emotional regulation into community-based programs.
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Develop approaches to foster resilience, accountability, and collective well-being.
Dr. Stephen Thompson, Stockheart Whole Heatlh/GreyDoc Consulting
“From Survival to Soil of Safety: Neuroplasticity, Trauma, and the Future of Black Community Health”
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This workshop explores the historical, developmental, and social factors that shape how Black boys are perceived and treated within educational systems. The session draws from interdisciplinary research in psychology, education, neuroscience, and history. Additionally, this session sheds light on how early biological vulnerability, social environments, and longstanding racial narratives influence educational outcomes for Black boys. The hope is for participants to examine research on adultification bias, disparities in school discipline, school climate and mental health outcomes, and underrepresentation of Black boys in behavioral research.
The workshop will explore how historical stereotypes and structural inequities continue to shape expectations and responses to Black boys' behavior in schools. Through discussion and practical strategies, participants will consider ways educators and community leaders can create more supportive educational environments that promote belonging, resilience, and positive developmental outcomes for Black boys
Goals:
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Increase understanding of the historical and social narratives that influence perceptions of Black boys.
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Examine developmental and environmental factors affecting Black boys' educational experiences.
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Shed light on disparities in school discipline, mental health outcomes, and behavioral intervention research.
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Encourage culturally responsive approaches to supporting Black boys in educational settings.
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Equip participants with strategies to improve school environments and developmental outcomes.
Objectives:
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Explain how historical stereotypes and racial narratives influence contemporary perceptions of Black boys.
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Identify key developmental and environmental factors affecting the well-being and academic experiences of Black boys.
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Recognize how school environment and disciplinary practices contribute to disparities in outcomes.
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Analyze research gaps in behavioral interventions.
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Apply culturally responsive strategies that support Black boys in development and school environments.
Noel Nix, pre-licensed professional clinical counselor
“Maintaining Resilience in Community Work”
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Too often, those of us in community service and caring professions focus on everyone's health and well-being but our own. This workshop invites participants to pause and focus on what they need to sustain their sense of resilience. Together, we'll create individualized plans that will help participants to go the distance in their work by being mindful of their own needs.
Rio Jones (MSW Student), Abdur Razzaq Counseling & Social Architecture, PA
“The Living Bridge: Rebuilding the Village for the Modern Brother”
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This workshop is intended to use the principle of Sankofa to bridge the generational gaps among boys, men, and elder men that prevent healing and support. We will explore and discuss the effects of relationship fragmentation, grind culture, lack of personal accountability, absent mentorship, isolation, and trauma on Black wellbeing and the sacred ties of brotherhood.
The intended outcomes of this workshop are to offer, validate, and remember the self-sustaining practices of intergenerational support for boys, young men, and elder men.
Additionally, to teach:
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Intergenerational Literacy: how to use "Old" ancestral resilience as a practical tool for "New" systemic challenges.
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Relational Restoration: Establish "The Village" as an immediate support system to
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move from isolation to brotherhood.
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Somatic Grounding: Provide one essential Black-founded tool (Kemetic Breathwork) to regulate the "Body" in real-time.
Success is defined by every participant achieving somatic mastery through the Maat Breath as a functional defense against systemic stress, alongside the formal restoration of the Village through a "Chain of Command" that binds the older students to the younger ones in a permanent mentorship structure. Ultimately, we seek a total shift in identity sovereignty, where each young man departs with a concrete Village Vow that replaces isolation with a specific, culturally grounded role in the collective restoration of the Black self.
Alva McMillan, Abellathena Life, LLC
“Your Skin Matters: The Mind, Body, and Soul Connection of Skin, Stress, and Community”
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This workshop aims to increase awareness of how stress and trauma can impact skin health. It will highlight the effects of chronic stress on scalp issues, hair shedding, and hair loss. We will explore the emotional and social implications of visible skin and hair concerns. Additionally, the workshop will introduce culturally responsive and accessible self-care practices that promote healing and restoration. Finally, participants will be encouraged to recognize when it may be beneficial to seek community support or professional care.
Goals and Objectives
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Increase awareness of the ways stress and trauma can affect skin health.
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Highlight how chronic stress may also contribute to scalp concerns, hair shedding, and hair loss.
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Explore the emotional and social impact of visible skin and hair concerns.
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Introduce culturally responsive, accessible self-care practices that support healing and restoration.
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Encourage participants to recognize when community support and professional care may be beneficial.
Pastor Carmen D. Lewis is a community leader focused on intergenerational healing, faith, and justice. She authored “Loving Jesus Made Me Crazy,” which explores recovering from church hurt and reconnecting with God.
Sam Simmons, LADC Behavioral Consultant and Conference Co-Creator
“Fireside Chat: trauma, healing and the Church.”
Afternoon Workshops
Jimmie Heags Jr., MA, LSC, LADC, ACSL & LPCC, board-approved clinical supervisor by the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy.
From the Mississippi Delta to Minnesota: Re-Examining What’s Possible in Conflict Through Restorative Conversations”
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Conflict in families, schools, and communities often escalates before anyone has the opportunity to slow down and reflect. Voices rise, emotions intensify, and relationships can fracture long before people have the tools to guide a constructive conversation.
Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, I saw how conflict could carry emotional weight that people didn’t always have the language or structure to navigate. Years later, working in schools and community systems, I encountered restorative conversations—structured dialogue practices that help individuals pause, examine their thinking, recognize impact, and move toward repair.
This workshop introduces a practical restorative conversation framework built around five guiding questions that help people move from reaction to reflection and toward meaningful repair in families, organizations, and communities.
Learning Objectives:
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Recognize how reactive responses escalate conflict
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Use five restorative questions to guide conversations toward reflection and repair
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Understand how structured dialogue interrupts cycles of harm
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Explore how restorative conversations support community healing
Naajee Dennis, MA, Licensed Clinical Counselor
"Learning to Exhale: Black Male Healing and Returning to Calm in the Body"
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This interactive workshop explores how trauma is held in the body and how nervous system regulation can support healing for Black men and the communities they serve. Trauma does not live only in memory; it is also stored in the body and nervous system. When trauma remains unresolved, it can manifest through hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, chronic stress, and reactive patterns that affect relationships, families, and communities. This session will introduce participants to the brain-body connection and explain how chronic stress and trauma impact nervous system functioning, particularly within the context of systemic oppression and intergenerational trauma experienced in Black communities. Grounded in trauma-informed care, somatic psychology, and culturally responsive healing practices, participants will learn practical tools to support nervous system regulation in themselves and those they work with. The workshop will also explore the role of co‑regulation in community spaces and how regulated nervous systems can foster safety, accountability, and sustainable community change. Participants will leave with practical techniques applicable to therapeutic settings, community work, classrooms, and everyday interactions.
Learning Objectives
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Understand how trauma is held in the body and how the nervous system responds to chronic stress.
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Recognize signs of nervous system dysregulation such as hyperarousal, shutdown, and emotional reactivity.
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Learn practical nervous system regulation strategies that can be used in clinical, community, and everyday environments.
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Explore how regulated nervous systems support healthier relationships, accountability, and community healing.
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Gain culturally responsive tools that can be implemented when working with Black men, youth, and families.
Chef Ramaj Young, Nourishment Network
"Meal Prep and The Busy Man”
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This is a one-hour, high-impact workshop designed to introduce men to the relationship between food, discipline, and emotional regulation.
Rooted in Chef Ramaj Young's Essence Athletics philosophy, this session reframes food as more than fuel, positioning it as a daily practice that influences how we think, respond, recover, and lead.
Participants will be guided through a crash course in food literacy, nervous system awareness, and the role of nourishment in building consistency, clarity, and self-trust. The workshop blends performance-based insight with community-centered discussion via a trauma-informed philosophy, creating space for reflection, accountability, and connection.
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Goals
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To reconnect participants with food as a source of stability, awareness, and self-regulation
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To introduce food sovereignty as a personal and collective practice
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To create a space where men can reflect on discipline without shame or pressure
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To build community through shared understanding of nourishment and responsibility
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Objectives
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Participants will learn how food impacts energy, mood, and decision-making
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Participants will identify patterns in their own consumption habits
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Participants will gain practical ways to use food to support regulation and consistency
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Participants will engage in conversation around access, culture, and sovereignty in food systems
Drake Powe, Mindfulness and Healing Coach Skellegense LLC
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“From Pressure To Power: Trauma Informed Stress Relief For Black Men”
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This workshop aims to create a culturally grounded, trauma-informed space where Black men can explore how chronic pressure, racism, and trauma affect their bodies, minds, and spirits. Participants will be equipped with simple, repeatable stress-relief practices that they can use during high-pressure moments at work, at home, and in the community. It will reframe stress and trauma responses, emphasizing dignity, strength, and resilience. The workshop will introduce at least three body-based regulation tools—breathwork, grounding, and movement—and demonstrate how to use them safely and confidently. Participants will be guided through live practice of each tool, with options and consent, so they can notice how regulation feels in their own bodies. It will also facilitate brief small-group or pair discussions to normalize conversations about stress and foster a sense of shared healing.
Goals: Create a culturally grounded, trauma-informed space where Black men can explore how chronic pressure, racism, and trauma impact their body, mind, and spirit. Equip participants with simple, repeatable stress-relief practices they can use during high-pressure moments at work, at home, and in the community. Reframe stress and trauma responses, emphasizing dignity, strength, and resilience.
Objectives: Introduce at least three body-based regulation tools (breathwork, grounding, movement) and demonstrate how to use them safely and confidently. Guide participants through live practice of each tool, with options and consent, so they can notice how regulation feels in their own bodies. Facilitate brief small-group or pair discussions that normalize talking about stress and foster a sense of shared healing.
Greater Twin Cities United Way Program Manager & University of Minnesota Adjunct Professor
"The Power You Already Hold:
Raising, Protecting, and Building Our Children”
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This workshop aims to help parents understand that they are the main experts in their children’s lives. Their own experiences and instincts are important for their children’s everyday development. Parents will learn that they don’t need to be perfect. Instead, they should let go of self-blame and see that challenges often come from experiences, not personal failures. It will explain Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in a simple way. Parents will discover that a child’s behavior often relates to their past experiences, rather than meaning there is something “wrong” with the child. They will also see how their daily actions—such as being present, providing comfort, listening, and being consistent—can support their children and foster positive experiences. By the end of the session, parents will have easy strategies that help their children grow emotionally, build connections, and become resilient. They will be reminded, “You are already doing more than you think—what you're doing matters more than you know.”
Presentation Goals​
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Affirm Parent Expertise & Identity
Participants will leave recognizing themselves as the primary experts in their children’s lives, with valuable lived experience, intuition, and knowledge that shapes their children’s development every day.
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Promote Empowerment Without Blame
Participants will understand that parenting does not require perfection and will be encouraged to let go of self-blame by recognizing that challenges often stem from experiences, not personal failure.
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Reframe Adversity Through Understanding (ACEs)
Participants will be introduced to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in accessible language and will understand that behavior and outcomes are often connected to what a child has experienced, not what is “wrong” with them.
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Recognize Their Role as a Protective Factor
Participants will identify how their everyday actions — such as showing up, comforting, listening, and being consistent — already serve as powerful protective and benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs).
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Build Confidence Through Practical Tools
Participants will leave with simple, tangible strategies they can use in daily interactions with their children to support emotional development, connection, and resilience. “If nothing else, I want you to leave here knowing this: You are already doing more than you think — and what you’re doing matters more than you know.”
Sean A. Jones, AYR Safety Consultancy
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"Psychological Safety (PS) & Cultural Complicity””
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A discussion about the concept of PS, what it is, and what it isn't. How the African American culture contributes to the concepts of PS and why. Historical and structural context; How PS shows up in everyday life; Internalized norms and Masculinity; Impacts of low PS; Barriers Unique to African American Men; Building PS on Individual and Community Levels; Organizational/Institutional Roles; Actionable Tools & Techniques; Conclusion & Call to Action; Q&A Slide
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Goals - Make PS Real, Expose Cultural Complicity; Connect the Dots to Hard Life Stuff;
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Objectives - Understand what PS actually is, Recognizing cultural complicity, Name the Barriers, Feel Seen, Claim Tools;
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Expected Outcomes - Question Old Scripts, See Complicity Clearly, Feel Permission to Be Human, Pocket Action Steps
Sam Simmons, LADC. Behavioral Consultant, owner of Samuel Simmons Consulting, LLC, and conference organizer
“IT’S TIME TO DEAL WITH PAIN:
the mind, body, and spirit of community healing."
Sam Simmons, LADC, co-creator of the conference, KMOJFM radio host, behavioral consultant, and the author of "Just Sam: A Black Man's Journey to Healing." He will share trauma-informed approaches to address the challenges that trauma poses to the community.
Day Two
Friday, June 27st
9 am to 12:30 pm
Rev. Aledria “Lee” A. Buckley
“How is your soul, today?”
Rev. Aledria “Lee” A. Buckley is a leader in trauma and spiritual care, emphasizing community healing and the role of the faith community. In alignment with this year’s theme, The Mind, Body, and Soul of Community Healing, she invites us to reflection: “How is your soul, today?”
Moderator:
Sam Simmons
"The Faith And Community Healing" Panel
The panel will critically examine the faith community's role in addressing trauma. It will also explore practical, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive approaches that celebrate faith, healing, and community uplift.
Rev. Aledria “Lee” A. Buckley
Reginald Wiley,
The Potter's House Apostolic Ministries
Minister Isiah C. Dennis
Pastor Brian Herron, Senior Pastor at Zion Baptist Church
Named Later
“You don’t have to be a man to fight for freedom.
All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being.” — Malcolm X