Ashes & Ink is a book club born from the fire—where Black trans and cisgender men gather to burn the lies we’ve been fed about masculinity and write new truths in their place. This is a transformative space to gather, read, reflect, and rebuild ourselves—beyond the toxic scripts we inherited.

By the way…This ain't your average book club. We're here to unlearn harmful ideas about Black masculinity, sit with hard truths, and hold space for real change. We read to grieve, to heal, to grow. This is where silence ends and boldness begins. Where our stories become survival, and survival becomes liberation.

Who it’s for: Black trans and cisgender men ages 18+

Goals and Curriculum

The book club goals and curriculum for Ashes & Ink centers Black masculinity, promotes critical reflection with cis and trans Black men, and moves in a transformative arc—from grief and unlearning to growth and reimagination.

Discussion(s) Goals:

Unlearning
Survival
Witnessing
Reimagining
Confronting
Becoming

Each goal has:

A core book or text
A theme
Group discussion prompt
Discussion goals
Add-on resources (short reads, poems, essays, media)

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