![]() Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon messaged him. The overwhelming response convinced him to keep going. He dove right into issues like white privilege and Black people’s use of the n-word and never looked back. In that YouTube post, sitting on a stool and speaking directly to the camera, Acho set forth his goal: to educate white America on its blind spots. Three days later, we have 20 million views,” Acho recalls. For nine minutes, 27 seconds, I poured out my heart. ’ and on ‘one,’ I open up my eyes and stare into the camera. It cascaded out of him in a single, unedited take. I said, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I have to do something.’ ” Within a few days, he enlisted a wedding videographer and a friend to help produce what turned out to be the first episode of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man. When George Floyd was killed at the hands of police, he says, “that shook me to the core. His calling, he says, is these conversations, which he didn’t intentionally set out to have. “My career is sports-playing in the National Football League, hosting Speak for Yourself,” he says, referring to his talk show on FS1. “There’s a difference between your career and your calling,” he says, sitting on a sofa at the studio in head-to-toe Nike gear-T-shirt, shorts, and slides. Organically, out of his own anguish, Acho has created a dialogue around race, racial justice, and allyship that has moved millions. In less than four months, the 30-year-old has catapulted from being a sports analyst to becoming an emerging conciliatory voice on one of the thorniest issues of our time. Join now! Men's HealthĪlthough Acho may not know his physical strength, he is quickly understanding his power and his reach. It’s a road we’ll travel.”ĭon’t miss out on exclusive content. “Let’s get uncomfortable.” Moments later, Acho reaches the book’s final refrain, which he delivers with quiet, steely resolve: “Ending racism is not a finish line that we will cross. “Okay, now I gotta hammer this home.” He begins reading aloud. Seated in a recording booth at Village Studios in Los Angeles, where he is narrating the audiobook, Acho places the iPad back on its perch and exhales. On that tablet is a different sort of playbook, one aimed at bridging a racial divide in America that became more pronounced this year than at any time in recent memory: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, a new book based on Acho’s unexpectedly popular and powerful web series of the same name. ![]() In this case, however, the six-two, 240-pound player-turned-sports- caster has inadvertently brushed against his iPad while speaking, knocking it off its reading stand. “I don’t know my own strength.” Acho, a consensus All-Big-12 linebacker at the University of Texas who played four seasons in the NFL for the Browns and the Eagles, once made a living off intentional violent collisions. We practice sports, writing, playing a musical instrument… we should also practice ways to solve racially stressful moments.“Going doooown,” says Emmanuel Acho. Learn about the tools our friends at the Lion’s Story share to help build racial literacy. Get the book, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man ![]() ![]() Have intentional conversations on race with friends, family and colleagues. Begin:Īttend (virtual) workshops that focus on race-related issuesĪvoid using stereotypical, micro-aggressive comments and phrases like “You don't talk like you're black”. There are several online quizzes available (these might give you a bit of info about the questions to ask yourself during situations remind you to be more mindful of your reactions and feelings so you can identify any biases). It may be difficult but it's a good place to start. Listen / watch all of Emmanuel’s uncomfortable conversations at his YouTube channel! Reflect:Ĭheck you own biases. ![]()
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