How Black Men Cry

Audra Russell speaks with poet and author Calvin Ockletree.

Calvin Jamal Ockletree is from Indianapolis, IN by way of Nashville, TN. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and is currently in his last semester of completing his Master’s in Criminal Justice. His passion to write poetry began when he started journaling because he felt that his voice was not heard within his household. It transformed into poetry after he fell in love with a class called “American Literature” that had a section dedicated to the history of the art. From then on, Calvin turned to poetry to express how he viewed everything in and around him in his life. His book, “Hear My Cry,” is a reference people can return to time and time again and receive motivation to keep pushing forward to whatever their wildest dreams may be.

In this episode, we talk about the language of how Black men cry, what it's like to be a Black man in America and the fact that sundown towns still exist.

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