Behind the Mask: Mentoring Boys For a Better Future with Ashanti Branch

Young boys need guidance. Activist, speaker and mentor Ashanti Branch talks about his journey from teacher to full time mentor, being vulnerable with your emotions, the challenges facing young men and the importance of leading by example. Through his work with his nationwide #MillionMaskMovement Ashanti is helping young boys, and particularly black young men remove their “masks” and reveal the emotions that reside inside.  Content warning: this episode discusses sexual assault New episodes every Monday 🎙️ The video version of every episode will always be available on the @wearemanenough YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/WeAreManEnough  The Man Enough Podcast is produced by Wayfarer Studios and presented by Procter and Gamble, in partnership with Cadence13, an Audacy company. Show Notes  00:00 Content Warning 00:08 Episode Starts  02:28 Introducing Ashanti Branch  03:46 How Did You Get Into Activism? 08:55 When Is The Last Time You Didn’t Feel Enough? 16:44 Working On Accountability 21:27 Ashanti’s Childhood & Introduction to Porn 27:42 Sexual Assault, Adultification and Addictions  36:12 The Pressure of Masculinity and Young Men  46:15 Black Boys Aren’t Allowed To Play 47:47 Creating A Culture of Care For Black Boys   55:12 Young Men Don’t Need To Be Shamed 1:00:20 Live Mask Workshop With Our Hosts 01:12:28 What Does It Mean to be Man Enough About Ever Forward Club and The Million Mask Movement EFC is a non-profit organization that ensures underserved students graduate high school by addressing the underlying causes of dropout rates and youth violence, and providing grassroots solutions like mentorship, safe spaces and emotional tools.  EFC’s #millionmaskmovement provides a free, youth-friendly, hands-on emotional tool, with an online gallery of over 65,000 masks from around the world, searchable by age, so youth feel less alone. About Ashanti Branch Ashanti Branch is an accomplished speaker, non-profit founder and activist whose work with youth has been featured at SXSW, CNN and Sundance Film Festival. Ashanti is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ever Forward Club (EFC), a non-profit organization that ensures underserved students graduate high school by providing grassroots solutions like mentorship, safe spaces and emotional tools.  Guest Social Links:  ASHANTI BRANCH Instagram @brancspeaks  Twitter: @BranchSpeaks Subscribe to the Man Enough newsletter for behind the scenes, updates, sneak peeks of new episodes, and positive masculinity content: https://manenough.com/newsletter Read the Man Enough book: https://manenough.com/books Order the Boys Will Be Human book: https://boyswillbehuman.com  FOLLOW THE HOSTS: Justin Baldoni https://instagram.com/justinbaldoni https://www.tiktok.com/@justinbaldoni https://facebook.com/justinbaldoni https://twitter.com/justinbaldoni Text: +1 (310) 845-6909 Liz Plank https://instagram.com/feministabulous https://tiktok.com/@lizplank https://facebook.com/feministabulous https://twitter.com/feministabulous http://www.elizabethplank.com/ Jamey Heath https://instagram.com/jamey_heath_ https://tiktok.com/@jameyheath https://twitter.com/jamey_heath_ https://facebook.com/jameyjaz http://www.jameyheath.com/ Special Thanks Thank you to MintMobile for supporting our show! Go to www.mintmobile.com/manenough for a $15 wireless plan and free shipping. #representation #mentoring #boys #healing #bhm #youngmen #crisis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices