Funny Summer Quote:  “If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed.” ― Unknown Summer is now in full swing.  Some of y’all are working on degrees and certifications. Some of y’all are investing time in your side hustle.  While others are letting the days come as they may.  Wherever you find yourself, I hope you are crushin’ your goals.  Summer time is a great time to re-energize our (or adopt new) personal wellness practices.  Why? It’s typically a time when practicing self-care is more accepted. One doesn’t have to feel guilty about taking time to slow down an ..read more

Happy June! Summer is here! Which means two things: FIRST – We just successfully wrapped the first ever BMEsTalk Incubator!  More on that in this month’s video. SECOND – The BMEsTalk team is moving into our annual season of intentional rest. From June 12 thru July 10, 2023, our offices will be closed so that we can rest, rejuvenate and celebrate Junetenth. We are powered by CommunityBuild Ventures, our entire firm will be celebrating this season.  During this time of rest, I plan on engaging in one of the wellness practices we teach in the BMEsTalk Incubator entitled Observing Mind ..read more

I was a middle and high school Math Teacher for 15 years. I really valued my summer breaks.  I would spend that time doing a variety of things including: attending professional development, working summer enrichment programs, teaching summer school, coaching football and practicing self-care.  Like many educators, as the start of the school year approached, I would feel nice and relaxed, skin glowing, a little slimmer and ready to take on the year.   That was until the night before the first day of school.  Whether it was the first week of Aug or just after Labor Day ..read more

It’s May! Spring is in the air! Flowers are blooming, weeps are popping up in the garden and educators around the country are getting antsy. And if you are a K-12 public school educator in the American South you know state testing is here and graduation is just a few weeks away. Educator or not, we are all extremely busy trying to complete so many different tasks, projects and assignments.  I don’t know about you, but I often get distracted (and stressed) just thinking about how busy I am. And guess what? Having my cellphone around ain’t helping. Recently, I read that researchers have fou ..read more

Man, I am exhausted.  I’m under a few key deadlines and as I type, my left shoulder is tightening up “into a ball.” I have learned that, when this happens, I need to make a few adjustments in my day to bring more calm and ease.  Sometimes that means stepping away from work for the remainder of the day, engaging in a personal wellness practice, or simply “power thru”. I am choosing to power thru in this moment, because I am 6 days past my deadline and my Director of MarComm, Allison Todd, is waiting on it so she can finish the BMEsTalk newsletter.   Please don’t just me, I g ..read more

Hey good people!  I hope this note finds you all well.  The other day, I was scrolling through my feed on LinkedIn and scrolling past the image below.  It stopped my scroll in its tracks. The title struck a chord with me.   The LinkedIn post and full image can be found here.  For the last 6 or 7 years, I have been working to move away from using violent language. I feel like this all began when a friend and colleague, Dr. Folami Prescott-Adams was slowly trying to get me to move away from saying “kill two birds with one stone.” To be honest, I didn’t know what th ..read more

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 2023 Black Male Educator Appreciation Day at the Georgia State Capitol.  The event was hosted by Mr. Jason B Allen, long time Atlanta educational leader, community organizer and entrepreneur.  At the start of the event, Jason asked the distinguished panel of Black Male Educators to consider the question: As Black Male Educators, where do we go next?  From the panel of beautiful Black Male Educators representing different parts of the state and different positions within education, responses included, but not limited to, enhancing m ..read more

Three months ago, my family and I were sitting in church.  About 45 mins into the service, what appeared to be a white man dressed in a suit, walked into the sanctuary, down the side aisle and sat right in the front row.  Immediately, images of this and this flashed in my mind. I felt my life, and my family member’s lives, were in danger. At the same time, I thought ‘calm down Ayo’, ‘chill Ayo’, ‘it’s just a person coming to worship’. One minute later, I turned to my wife and said it’s time to go.  She looked at me, saw the  seriousness of my face and heard my quiet firm vo ..read more

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023!   As we are nearing the end of the first month of 2023, how are you? Did you set any goals for the first month of the year? How’s your progress? I send you lots of love and light in all that.  I am so excited to start 2023. Why? I’m getting confirmation that the work of BMEsTalk is vital and necessary. Recently, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education released the 2023 Top Ten Issues to Watch! Number 5 on the list was Educator Burnout: Creating Conditions for Success.  The report stated, “The @EdQuest Georgia Coalition identifie ..read more

Imposter syndrome can be loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. This is often how I feel amongst groups of Black men I don’t know so well. You might think this is “strange” or “not in alignment” with my work.  Yes, I “create and curate safe, rich spaces for Black Male Educators to connect, grow and lead”, yet, I still experience the imposter syndrome among Black men.  This could be a Men’s fellowship group at my church or a social gathering of Black men professionals here.  This feeling of being an imposter is completely self imposed.  None of ..read more