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Episode 5: Ashanti Branch - Taking Our Masks Off, Emotional Literacy in Schools is a Revolution

Episode 5: Ashanti Branch - Taking Our Masks Off, Emotional Literacy in Schools is a Revolution
The Path of Contemplation, Tyler Shrake
"He wears a make, and his face grows to fit it" - George Orwell

Listen here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ux9GpuUIUX0wWi5QBqQxm?si=O_CIz-pqRQ-LWTwPrnB-qQ

Quote from Ashanti I'm Pondering

"What does it mean to cry, what does it mean to be sad, what does it mean to be afraid? If you’ve been told all your life those aren’t welcome, those aren’t acceptable ways to be, then maybe you turn it off, and maybe you never explore the parts of you that need to be explored." - Ashanti Branch

Show Notes

Ashanti Branch is the founder & Executive Director of Ever Forward Club an organization he’s been leading for over 18 years. Inspired to help struggling students he became a teacher and started The Ever Forward Club to provide a support group for African American and Latino males, who were not achieving to the level of their potential. Ashanti has been featured in the inspiring documentary exploring unhealthy masculinity messages in media, The Mask You Live In.

I found Ashanti's passion for creating spaces to take off the masks we wear to be totally contagious. In our conversation we discuss his path to starting an organization dedicated to taking off masks, how to cultivate and move at the speed of trust, and how emotional literacy in schools could revolutionize the education system for the better.