In a continued effort to engage, act and sustain a productive and positive community dialogue and impact, the Cleveland Cavaliers are launching a new virtual community conversation series that will be free and open to the public. In partnership with the NAACP Cleveland Branch, the debut session of the “Time to Talk” series will focus on Black men and their mental health. It will air live on Cavs.com and the Cavs YouTube, Facebook and Twitter platforms this Wednesday, June 24th (6:30-7:30 p.m.).
The “Black Men: It’s OK To Talk About It” discussion on Wednesday is part of the new Cavs ALL FOR BLACK CLEVELAND movement, developed with the NAACP Cleveland Branch. The Time to Talk series, a program within the Cavs broader ALL FOR CLEVELAND community support and awareness platform, will feature other culturally relevant topics in future sessions.
“As civic and community leaders, now more than ever it is incumbent upon us at the Cavaliers to step forward and have these conversations,” said Kevin Clayton, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement for the Cavs and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “We want to offer this as a platform for people not only in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio, but everywhere, who want to both hear and be heard. This open and honest dialogue is intended to be one step in the continuing process to help unite and heal. We are thankful to our long-time partners at the NAACP Cleveland Branch for embarking on this necessary journey with us.”
Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will be one of three featured speakers in Wednesday’s dialogue that will be moderated by Clayton. They will be joined for the discussion by Jeff Johnson, Chief Curator of Men Thrive, and Archie Green, Mental Health Advocate and Founder of Peel Dem Layers Back. Following the candid conversation, the speakers will answer questions from the virtual audience.
“The NAACP is a grassroots civil rights organization that works on behalf of the community to remove the barriers and obstacles created by racism,” said Danielle Sydnor, President of the NAACP Cleveland Branch. “In response to recent events in our society, our members came together to create this platform to provide a space where we can have real dialogue about the issues and feelings related to all that is happening right now. While this first session will be focused on Black men, we will continue to expand the topics to address a wide range of issues.”