Abstract Essay, in its sixth season, features Shermain Melton accomplished, Black, gay, Christian, and unapologetically authentic as my guest. He is the author of The Loneliness of the Accomplished Black Man, a deeply reflective work that explores identit

Shermain Melton Accomplished, Black, Gay, Christian, and Done Hiding. Author of The Loneliness of the Accomplished Black Man. Shermain Melton is a truth teller. He is also Black, accomplished, gay, and Christian. For a long time, he thought God had played a trick on him by giving him a big heart to love people while subjecting him to rejection from the church for living his truth of being gay. He has lost friends and business for owning who he is. Shermain rose from a childhood of poverty, gunshots, and drug dealers to become a self-made and debt-free millionaire. He carries survivor guilt because not all his friends made it out alive. At age twenty, he became the general manager of an underperforming Pizza Hut and led his team of forty to generate over one million dollars in revenue. While his peers were learning business theory, he was running a real business. He eventually walked away from a lucrative technology career as a senior network engineer at American Express. He spent years optimizing broken networks but realized the most critical network that needed fixing was the connection between leaders and their authentic selves. We are currently battling a loneliness epidemic that is killing accomplished Black men in silence. Shermain is on a mission to end this isolation by demanding deep connection, unapologetic belonging, and raw courage. He is the author of The Loneliness of the Accomplished Black Man and he is here to challenge you to stop playing small. Please welcome Shermain Melton. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.