The presentation will begin by discussing John Bunn’s personal story and the conditions surrounding his arrest and arraignment. Mr. Bunn will vividly and emotionally speak about what it was like to be taken from his home at 14—knowing that he had never committed a crime. He will then go on to talk about how he felt originally going through the process of entering the prison system, which will lead John to speaking about how he learned to read and how reading helped him keep a positive mindset during the worst times of his life. The goal, to this point of the presentation, is to exude the importance of resiliency and positivity, as John Bunn shows how books helped not only transform his life but also taught him the value of positivity at all times. John’s mantra, positivity is cool, continues to drive him to help others on a day to day basis, and John will go on to discuss how that simple saying pushes him through life, inspiring him to help others and improve himself along the way.

The outcome of cultural trauma experienced by Afrikan Americans generated the development of a psychopathology that influenced the Afrikan American identity. The psychopathology associated with de-culturalization and cultural trauma, is expressed in issues such as depression, low self-esteem, and self-hatred. Traumatic loss of meaning and self-identity is the outcome of cultural trauma. Concepts such as wellness and resilience is often culturally based, and if possible should be integrated in mentoring, coaching, and leadership development programs. Based on the work of Dr. Amos Wilson and Dr. John Henrik Clarke, this workshop will demonstrate the importance of Afrikan cultural identity and how this identity plays a role in developing a positive self-concept and self-efficacy, which helps motivate individuals to see themselves as successful.These beliefs can contribute to the academic success of students.

In the first portion of his keynote, Justino will talk about his family's immigration story and how income and immigration status affected his upbringing in the United States. Justino emphasizes how California's public educational system provided him with the resources to excel, but also how it failed to properly address the needs of undocumented students of color. In the second portion of the keynote, Justino discusses his experiences in college while trying to balance work, activism, and family responsibilities. He shares his motivations to become an activist, lessons learned from being a student activist, and how an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and passion in technology led him to develop powerful tools and platforms that have long-lasting impact on legislation and policies affecting millions of people.

The community panel is designed to highlight programs in the community that serve young men of color. The panelists will be asked questions that are connected to strategies and outcomes that they have encountered since running their programs. Panelists will provide feedback to the participants around what they have learned while working with our young men. Participants will also be given time to ask questions that would be beneficial to their learning and growth to support working with our young men of color.

After a day of learning from so many different individuals, it is important to take some time to create a plan for what you will take away and implement into your lives. Advocates will discuss major takeaways from the summit and why they were so impactful. More importantly, it is our expectation that each participant will create a goal, based on something they learned at the summit, and steps to reach said goal. We hope to see many goals centered around improving support for our young black and brown males.