The Union Capital Brotherhood: Building Community and Redefining Masculinity

The meeting had not begun, and the laughter of the Union Capital Brotherhood already surrounded me. As the group of 8 men sat around the large table that evening, their conversation moved between their experiences dealing with loss, their dreams, and of course, joking around. 

It was clear to me that they were comfortable with each other, but also inviting and welcoming. 

The discussion was like one of old friends, even though for one member it was his first meeting.

The Union Capital Brotherhood and its podcast is a place for the men of Union Capital to be a part of a community and to talk about hard topics. In the words of Fred Mclemore, “The way I like to describe it is we are a group of men who are going to break the cycle. Whatever that cycle may be.”

During the meeting, some members said that before the start of UC Brotherhood, they felt that when going to UC events, they were invading a space for women. They felt this because there were not a lot of men at the events. Union Capital as an organization is made up of more women than men. Garrick Thames, a network coordinator, agreed with this feeling. Garrick was excited about the start of the Brotherhood and said, “When I heard about the Brotherhood, I was off and running.” 

UC Brotherhood Member, Garrick Thames.

UC Brotherhood Member,
Frank Williams.

Frank Williams said that before the Brotherhood, when talking to his friends, he would never learn about their lives, just talk about sports or the weather. They did not talk about emotional topics. In the Brotherhood, they talk about it all. Fred said, “It's fun, we talk about serious topics, we talk about sad topics … There's always an issue we’re talking about, we're addressing, more importantly, we're talking it over with each other.” Cornelius Hood added, “It keeps me full.” 

In an effort to grow the Brotherhood, the men started a podcast where they have their real conversations, both on the radio and uploaded to platforms such as Instagram Reels. 

The radio broadcast of the podcast can be found live monthly on Boston Praise Radio 102.9 FM  on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. The most recent conversation on June 10th was about work ethic and how they got theirs. 

It was obvious that everyone benefited from and enjoyed their time at the meeting. Small comments showed their appreciation for each other. Garrick told Dennis, “You make me wanna be here.” Fred said, “When I come here, I am growing.” He added, “It [The UC Brotherhood Meeting] is one of those events I have got to have it. As long as they have it, I'll keep showing up.” Dennis described the meeting, saying, “This is my fun time of the week.” Tee stated the reason he showed up to this meeting, his first one, “What brings me here today is I see a mission.” 

Later Dennis Hicks, one of the first members, described the Brotherhood, “We have a mission,” and “We want to galvanize (encourage or excite) the men.”

The Brotherhood has been constantly growing in its two years. I certainly hope that it keeps bringing community to the men of Union Capital and Boston.