Author Frederick Joseph examines modern masculinity in “Patriarchy Blues”

From an early age, Frederick Joseph recognized that violence is often demanded of men.

“We collectively teach our boys that winning, surviving, things of that nature, always require beating somebody,” he told host Kerri Miller, “that it means beating them in competition, beat them mentally, beat them emotionally, beat them physically.”

But an exchange he had at a young friend’s funeral pointed a different path.

As he stood in his grief, his friend’s mother hugged him and said, “A bunch of angry boys who can’t cry are the reason my son died. Cry for my son. You both deserve it.

Joseph realized he didn’t know how to cry, how to be tender, how to allow himself to be fully alive in a world built by patriarchy and white supremacy. So he started a journey.

He shares this journey with the world in his new book, “The Patriarchy Blues.” Join Miller and Joseph Friday at noon for a discussion of this poignant collection of musings on the culture of modern masculinity through the lens of a black man.

Guest:

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