Why When a Black Man Smiles Matters... and What’s Next?
One Smile, One Story, One Truth
When a Black Man Smiles was born from a deep need; not just to change the narrative around Black men, but to honor it. Too often, Black men are viewed through a distorted lens: criminalized, dehumanized, or stripped of softness. Their joy, their vulnerability, and their complexity are overshadowed by societal stigma. I wanted to interrupt that.
This book became my way of infusing the atmosphere with something we don’t see enough of: authentic and affirming images of Black men simply… smiling.
Through each page, I aimed to spark recognition, healing, and visibility. Even if it changed one moment, one perspective, or lifted one spirit, that smile would matter. The response was clear: Black men want to be seen, heard, and honored. Their presence deserves more than survival, it deserves celebration.
But what happens after the smile?
That’s where What’s Behind Your Smile? begins.
This next phase is about going deeper; I'm not just capturing the moment of joy, but uncovering the journey that leads to it, and exploring what your smile sometimes hides. Every smile has a backstory: strength, sorrow, or hope. What’s Behind Your Smile? is an invitation into those layered, unspoken stories. It’s about truth-telling, emotional depth, and giving Black men space to share what often goes unseen: their pain, their dreams, their growth.
This book will be equally, if not more powerful, because it doesn’t just show the outcome, it reveals the path and the pain. It’s a continuation of honoring, of uplifting, and of disrupting the limited ways the world talks about Black men.
I’m doing this because I want you to start to see that there’s a lot to unpack when you see someone’s smile, especially someone with melanated skin. We smile through it all, from stress to mental and physical illness, to success and abundance.
I believe that one smile, one story, one truth can change how we see the world, and how the world sees us. I want to be the catalyst for that change, for how Black men’s stories are told, valued, and remembered.
This isn’t just a project. It’s a purpose... and we’re just getting started.
Her Smile Holds Stories is the natural continuation of this purpose created for Black women. We also smile through silence, struggle, survival and success. This book invites them to take their rightful place in this legacy of truth-telling. Behind every woman’s smile is a universe of grief, joy, strength, and grace. Her Smile Holds Stories honors that depth. Her voice belongs here. Her truth deserves the pedestal.