When can you call a man a man? When has he earned that coveted title he's strived for his whole adolescent life? Is it when his bank account has reached a certain number? Or when he's earned the ability to be feared by others in the name of respect? And who are the male role models leading the way if yours has fallen victim to recidivism, spending time in and out of jail?
Actor, writer, activist, Dondré Whitfield was raised in Brooklyn by his mother, and as a result, Dondré's life-lessons came from the older boys and men in his neighborhood, a place where male respect was defined by the woman on your arm or the size of the rubber band bank in your pocket.
But does this definition make you a man? Or does it stifle your ability to rise to your personal and societal responsibilities? Would you shake it off as nonsense and reject the notion that there is more to being a man than seeing how the world can serve you? Or would you embrace the realization that manhood is more about how you can be of service to the world.
Finding Dondré Whitfield:
Twitter: @dondrewhitfield
Instagram: @alldondre 
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