The Weight I Carry

Black boys are disproportionately affected by the failures within each of Bronfenbrenner’s systems. They are overdisciplined and under-supported in schools (Microsystem). Their families face barriers in connecting with institutions (Mesosystem). Policies and institutions impact them without ever knowing them (Exosystem). Media, culture, and systemic racism, self-oppression & self-hatred define their identity before they can (Macrosystem). These wounds, if unhealed, become patterns that echo across time (Chronosystem). This book is a call to action. To see, hear, protect, and advocate for Black boys-before the world decides who they are without ever asking. How the world around a Black boy can fail him, system by system, community by community, & household to household-affecting his confidence, safety, mental health, identity, and future. We’ll touch on implicit bias, adultification, systemic neglect, over-discipline, under-support, and generational impact-layer by layer, in a way a child (and adult) can grasp.