Name: Brandon Frame
Age: 23
College: Morehouse College
Major: Business Administration w/concentration in Marketing
Grad year: 2009
Highlights: recipient of Morehouse Marketing Star Award, Morehouse Legacy Award
About Brandon: I am the Chief Visionary Officer of The Black Man Can. The organization’s mission is to actively promote a positive black male image. I currently work as an educator at The Fessenden School in West Newton, Massachusetts where I teach seventh grade English, coach basketball and co-facilitate the mentoring program focused on boys of African descent.
Getting to where I am now was not easy, one of the biggest adversities I have ever faced is myself. My earliest memory of such an event would date back to middle school where I questioned if I would be able to make it out of my neighborhood. I didn’t think that it was intended for me to abandon my current situation in search of one that would garner success. I often wondered if I were destined for greatness, if I were to make it out of my neighborhood. In my creation of 'The Black Man Can', I brooded over people’s interest and support in such an organization. I found myself questioning society’s desire to witness positive images of Black Men. I overcame these obstacles by taking the following three quotes/phrases to heart:
1) Benjamin Elijah Mays’ quote that states “every man and woman was put on this earth to do something unique and something distinctive. If he or she does not do it, it will never be done,”
2) M.K. Asante’s quote asserting that “if you make an observation, you now have an obligation,”
3) the phrase that declares that each individual must use their mind to challenge the word’s limitations that society has unfortunately bestowed upon them
What is your life's mission?
My life’s mission is to educate, elevate, empower, inspire and uplift young boys of African descent. I have decided on a few areas in which I can best employ my talents that will directly correlate with my life’s mission. My goal is to connect the various islands of success to allow the sharing of best practices. I have made it my mission to start my own schools for boys that will prepare them as socially conscious men with a global perspective who will embrace the concept of being a scholar-athlete. I plan to teach the boys the importance of being a lover of reading and knowledge so that they will be well-informed with the ability to think critically about the world. My overarching mission is to provide the positive contradiction to the prevailing Black Male representation of today by actively promoting a Black Male image everyday. I have a firm grasp on where my passion lies and it has led me to my purpose, which I am pursuing with impeccable effort.
What does being a black man mean to you?
Being Black to me means being so reminded of Malcolm and Martin, but so inspired to sketch my own path. Being Black means keeping it real and not reel. Being Black means to know the path less traveled will not be easier or shorter, but it will make all the difference. Being Black means to advance my genius, not my gangsta; to understand that I am beautiful in mind and have a heart that will change the world. I must be a gentleman of exceptional character and impenetrable self-worth. Being Black means to learn, know and respect the history of my ancestors because I will always be part of that framework.
Contact Brandon:
Twitter - TheBlackManCan
To learn more about Brandon’s organization, visit http://www.theblackmancan.org/.
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