“I’m a two-time suicide survivor,” he stated Saturday. “Most athletes, we put on a helmet, pick up the ball or the bat, and those sports become how we cope … it was important for me to redirect my life and to really deal with things that I didn’t deal with when I was playing football.”

Barnett stated suicide is the third main explanation for demise amongst Black males within the United States, as reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, including that societal and social elements come into play in another way for Black males than for non-minority populations.

“The plight is different and we feel we have to show up knowing what we don’t know,” he stated. “We’re providing space here for brothers to hear … how they can begin to show up authentically for themselves because many of us are just performing, and I’m an advocate for living rather than performance.”

Saturday’s occasion was organized by Dayton residents Camillia Harris and Diona Clark.

“A lot of times, Black men don’t have a safe space to be able to let their mask down or just talk about some of the issues they’re experiencing within their homes, within society, or work,” Clark stated.

Harris and Clark stated this bottled-up emotion can have extreme — even violent — penalties.

“We want to create that safe space so we can prevent some of these pain-based behaviors that we see,” Clark stated.

This is one thing that hits near dwelling for Harris, who stated her father carried out a murder-suicide in 2019 throughout a time of psychological misery.

“I wish my father was here today to see this,” she stated, including that the occasion may have allowed her father to comprehend he wanted assist and given him the instruments to obtain it. “It could have sparked something … to say, ‘You know what, I’m not okay.’”