Black Men Build (BMB) is a grassroots membership organization whose mission is to give Black Men and their families all the tools necessary to become a powerful organized political force for liberation.  We recruit, develop, and organize Black Men in ways that no other organization is doing with a commitment to love, grace, accountability, and power. We are bringing Black men into the movement for racial, gender, and social justice through healing, power-building campaigns, and political education.

Our vision is to be one of the country’s most powerful and effective Left political organizations, preparing and organizing Black Men and their families to win and govern.

Our History

Black Men Build began with a love letter and call to action from women in our larger movement to Brothers in 2019. Brothers gathered that year to discuss what we saw as an opportunity to provide a space for Black Men to gather, to understand and learn, to feel safe, and to get active and engaged in ways that we hadn’t been before. We knew what was needed. We didn’t know how much it was needed. Until our first Mass Call in June 2020. Over 1,000 men from across the country joined us. It was at that moment that our dream became real.

Black Men Build was an answer to that call to action and since 2020 has built a national organization. Each of our Hubs is committed to Personal Transformation, Political Education, Survival Programs, and Power Building Campaigns.

Black Men Build (BMB) is a grassroots membership organization whose mission is to give Black Men and their families all the tools necessary to become a powerful organized political force for liberation.

Our Programs

Black Men Build’s Programs are designed to solidify deep intra-community bonds, foster leadership development, increase organizational visibility, and recruit new members to our organization. While many of our local Hubs develop city/community-specific programming, there are a number of National Initiatives that you will find moving no matter what Hub you visit. Below is just a small snapshot of our work.

• Community Men’s Circles: Brothers need a space to BE: be themselves, be in conversation, be challenged, be educated, be together. Our Circles bring together men (and in some cases women) together on a monthly basis for conversation, exchanges, and sharing. This is a heart and spirit space. It is the bedrock of our programming in many cities.
• National Days of Service: We believe that service is the foundation of our organization and the key to building deep relationships with our people. Every year we host National Days of Service for members and affiliates. These Days of Service are a part of our larger project to develop positive institutions within the community to help meet their needs.  Our NDOS initiatives include Neighborhood Street Sweeps, Free Food/Meal Distribution, Book Bag Giveaways, Christmas/KWANZAA Gift Giveaways and Toy Drives, Coat Drives, and more.  
• BMB Survival Programs: Each of the Hubs are developing their own set of running programs to serve, recruit and educate. These include: Community Health Clinics, Music Training Classes, Self Defense Classes, Gun Safety Trainings, Historical Tours, DJ Classes, the Black Men Build Chess Club and more.
• Political and Civic Education: We believe that every Black Men Build Member, Affiliate, and Hub must serve as an educational center for our communities.  With rampant misinformation both online and in the community, we see this as a key part of our work and fight.  To that end, Black Men Build hosts Monthly online Mass Meetings that engage thousands of men around current events, politics, health, and wealth.  We host weekly political education sessions called “Theory Thursdays” which feature deeper dives into the political issues of the day.  We also convene Book Clubs where members around the country share their learnings on a wide variety of texts.  Our local Hubs in Miami and St. Louis boast mentorship sessions with High School boys and youth where we engage on the pressing issues and urgency around civic engagement.

These programs are more than just mutual aid or community service.  They are central to our work and identity as an organization.  They are the anchor for our strategy to build the political power of our members and their communities and combat misinformation, suppression, and inaction.