It Takes A Village: Basics of Boyhood and Messages for Manhood is a multimedia research project launched in 2021, rooted in the African proverb that speaks to the power of family and community in raising children. The project explores how social media influences both the mental and public health of content creators and the broader Black community.

It Takes a Village includes two main components:

Framing Fatherhood is a photography exhibition that debuted at the Corcoran Gallery of Art on June 19, 2022. The exhibition is being adapted into a coffee table book of the same name, set to be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing in Fall 2025.

The Basics of Boyhood podcast is an honest and often humorous conversation between myself and my 10-year-old son, Isaiah, as we explore what it means to grow up as an only child in a single-parent household. Together, we cover topics ranging from cultural identity and digital literacy to grief, hygiene, and self-worth—with guidance from counselors, community leaders, authors, activists, and athletes.

This research is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation through a grant to the Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics at The George Washington University.