Author, hip-hop historian and social commentator Kevin Powell brought his State of Black Men Town Hall Meeting national tour to St. Louis Tuesday evening at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
“Depression is at an all-time high,” Powell said regarding the condition of black men.
“If you’ve ever had a bottle of liquor in your hand or some weed in your hand, you’ve been suicidal. There’s quick suicide and there’s slow suicide but suicide is suicide.”
Powell stressed the importance of mental wellness, because depression and suicide among black males is not widely discussed, but the problem is very real.
Powell said black men must actively work on their political, economic, spiritual, cultural, physical and mental wellness. This work is necessary to help improve the lives of black men and help them to see themselves in a more positive, healthy way.
“I have to own up to the fact that, for the first 18 years of my life, I was taught to hate myself as a black man,” Powell said, “which means that this is an ongoing process to learn how to love yourselves.”
The event drew some 150 people on a Tuesday night, owing in part to Powell’s celebrity. Known to many as a cast member on the original MTV Real World reality series, Powell has authored and edited several books about black history and hip-hop culture.
Based on his 2003 book Who’s Gonna Take the Weight? Manhood, Race and Power in America, his town hall tour has traveled nation-wide to educate and create a dialogue among African-American males of all ages.
Moderated by KMOX Channel 4 news anchor Vickie Newton, Powell’s speech and the discussion that followed gave tangible ways for black males to improve in areas such as employment, literacy and relationships and overcome the affronts they face on a daily basis, including unemployment, physical and emotional abuse, and negative images in the media.
“I learned more about myself and the state of black America,” said Kelcy Siddal, a 21-year-old economics major at UM-St. Louis. He said the event inspired him to “take care of myself spiritually and mentally to my advantage and to other people’s advantage.”
The event also brought out members of the St. Louis community working to improve the state of black men locally.
Ron Ross, a native of St. Louis and an employee of the state of Missouri, came to learn and to share strategies for improving the lives of African-American men in St. Louis.
“I am very aware of the need for African-American men to come together and deal with the issues in our community,” he said. Ross hopes that the event encouraged others “to continue to come out and work in our communities.”
“I feel the need for people in my age group to get involved,” said Monteague Simmons, a member of the Organization for Black Struggle.
“I was hoping to see the kind of crowd that I’m seeing and hoping to maybe join with some other people to get active and actually start doing and achieving some things.”
Powell ended the discussion by encouraging everyone to take action. He also warned that no one person or leader holds all of the solutions to the various problems facing black males in American. He encouraged St. Louisans to hold similar town hall meetings on a regular basis.
“The leadership we’re waiting for at the end of the day is us,” he said.