dovesoars blog
Inspiring, mentoring and connecting leaders who are committed to youth development, community-building, advancing racial equity and social justice issues.
Tomorrow is Not Guaranteed
Happy New Year! I am sure a few of you, like myself, find yourselves during this first week of January in the messy middle of still making the most of your review of 2022. The wins, the losses, the lessons learned, the blessings enjoyed – while simultaneously trying...
This Holiday Season: Discover Your G-Spot
One of the best pieces of life advice I've ever received came from a mentor named Yusef White more than 32 years ago while standing outside the Harlem YMCA. As we prepared to go inside the building for a meeting Yusef, in his humble, sage-like manner, looked at me and...
Introducing the 2022 “I Too Am America” Fellows
Allow Us to Introduce Ourselves: Meet The 2022 "I Too Am America" Fellows Hope you're enjoying a fruitful Fall! While it's been a minute since we last reached out, the Corporation for Black Male Achievement has been very busy behind the scenes and we're excited to...
Shawn Dove Delivers Commencement Keynote to Baruch College Class of 2022
Recently our very own founder and CEO, Shawn Dove served as the keynote speaker for Baruch College's Class of 2022 commencement ceremony! Baruch College will held its 2022 Commencement Ceremony for both undergraduate and graduate students on May 26 at Barclays Center,...
"We need our individual and collective wisdom to guide us home to ourselves, to a better way of living, a renaissance, away from catastrophe. Join the vanguard of visionaries who are defining success and the purpose of work from solely making money to making a better...
For My Fellow Authors, Artists, Poets & Storytellers.
During my college days at Wesleyan, I was blessed with the opportunity and challenge of serving as the editor of Expression, an annual poetry magazine that showcased the brilliant words and art of Black and Latinx students which I write about in I Too Am America: On...
I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys An Insurrection Within
The great American writer, poet and philosopher, Maya Angelou, said “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” Her quote resonates deeply with me today on the official release of my book, I Too Am America: On Loving & Leading Black Men...
Corporation for Black Male Achievement’s Holiday “Procrastinator’s Paradise” Gift Guide
Still searching for the perfect gift for the Black men and boys in your life? We’ve got you covered! See a few suggested items to add to your holiday gifting list: First up on the list is of course “I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men and Boys. A great...
Find “I Too Am America” At These Major Retailers
As we traverse the final days of 2021, so many of us find ourselves standing at the intersection of exhilaration and exhaustion. The past two years have truly been disruptive and heavy with personal, collective loss. For so many of us this is the first Holiday season...
On Birthing Your Own “Untold Story”
In the introduction of my and Nick Chiles' forthcoming book, I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys, we begin with the following poem I wrote in 1988 which was first featured in a publication called Word, A Poetry in Motion Off-Creations...
In Search of Coherence?
Living through a global pandemic – a once in a century world-changing experience – has required most of us to find new levels of creativity and adaptability that we didn’t even know we possessed. The death, the loss, the disruption, and the acceleration and elevation...
Why #ThankYouThursday? Let me explain.
As we enter into the official season of giving thanks, it occurred to me that some of you may have been wondering all along: what’s the deal with this whole weekly #ThankYouThursday tradition? Well, there is in fact mounting scientific evidence which shows that...
See What Happens When Dads are on Duty
This week we're sending #ThankYouThursday love and appreciation to a group of Louisiana fathers who are modeling my mission mantra that there is no cavalry coming to save the day in our communities – we are the iconic leaders we have been waiting for and curators of...
Make Gratitude Your Superpower
I am affirming that holding fast to this weekly #ThankYouThursday tradition of sending at least five gestures of gratitude to folks in my network to let them know how much they are loved and appreciated, is a healing and centering practice. Expressing gratitude is a...
Gun in My Hand, Hope in My Heart
The summer before my senior year of college I traveled to San Francisco to visit my father, who I'd not seen or been in touch with for several years. On the first night of my visit, after taking me to a few of his hang-out spots to introduce me to his friends, he...
Words of Wisdom to, and from, Our Black Sons
Today, I hope you'll join me in sending beloved #ThankYouThursday love and appreciation to Shaka Senghor for being a beacon of compassion, creativity and demonstrating the redemptive power of what is possible when we choose to not define ourselves by our worst deeds....
Closing National Suicide Prevention Month, and Braving My Own Wilderness
While today marks the last day of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, it must be emphasized that increasing awareness of suicide in our community, and the ways to address and prevent it, is a 24/7, 365 days-a-year mission. Sadly, countless individuals reading this...
On Haiti, Humanity and Holding a Mirror to Ourselves, and the World
Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck once declared “Haiti is not a world aside, a world apart. Culture and imaginations have always been part of our rebirth.” Peck did a phenomenal job with holding a mirror up to the world and helping to ignite the rebirth we need with his...
#ThankYouThursday: Jason Wilson, Founder of The Cave of Adullam
Today I am pausing to send beloved #ThankYouThursday gratitude and appreciation to Detroit native, Jason Wilson. Jason is no stranger to the Black Male Achievement movement, as his vision and mission with the Cave of Adullam Transformational Training Academy has...
“I Too Am America” Pre-Order Updates
Happy #ThankYouThursday! I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men & Boys co-author Nick Chiles and I express our deep gratitude to everyone who has pre-ordered our book so far! We have close to 400 pre-orders to date, thanks to you! If you've yet to get...
VIDEO: “I Too Am America Virtual Book Blessing & Celebration
On Saturday, August 28, 2021, the Corporation for Black Male Achievement hosted a special gathering of friends and community to celebrate the forthcoming release of Shawn Dove and Nick Chiles' highly-anticipated book, I TOO AM AMERICA: On Loving and Leading Black Men...
#ThankYouThursday: Althea Dryden, Cities United
Happy #ThankYouThursday. The past two years have been hard and challenging for most of us. Navigating life and death scenarios through a global pandemic, an amplification of America’s historic racial and social injustice, increasing political polarization, and rising...
YOU’RE INVITED: Aug. 28th “I Too Am America” Book Blessing & Celebration
The release of I Too Am America: On Loving and Leading Black Men and Boys is getting closer! And we couldn't be more excited. Ahead of the book's anticipated Fall 2021 release, the Corporation for Black Male Achievement invites you to celebrate with our founder and...
#ThankYouThursday: Joshua DuBois
Happy #ThankYouThursday. Welcome back to our weekly tradition of committing to share five gestures of gratitude to folks in our community letting them know how much they are loved and appreciated. Whether by an old-fashioned hand-written note, a call, a text, or smoke...
#ThankYouThursday: Richard L. Taylor, Jr.
Happy #ThankYouThursday. At the Corporation for Black Male Achievement, we are holding fast to this weekly tradition of committing to send five gestures of gratitude to folks in our community letting them know how much they are loved and appreciated. Whether by an...
Join us weekly for #MissionFuelMondays 🚀
If you need a boost to jumpstart your week, you’re in the right place. Check back here every Monday for a regular dose of #MissionFuel — a weekly video series of brief yet bountiful words of inspiration and insight from our founder Shawn Dove. In the first video of...
With Gratitude: A #ThankYouThursday Tradition
Happy #ThankYouThursday. As part of the CBMA weekly tradition, join us in taking a pause right now and letting at least five people in your network know how thankful you are for them.