Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, now an assistant professor of human development and family studies at UNC Greensboro, was interviewing a young man in Baltimore. It was part of her work as a doctoral research assistant, examining how young Black men transition from childhood to adulthood in communities where they’re disconnected from traditional school-to-work pathways.
His interview went four hours, uninterrupted. Nobody got up. Nobody went to the restroom.
That really spoke to me about his need, and perhaps the larger need I was tapping into, of creating a space for the men to tell their stories.