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Brothers Empowered to Teach
Larry, a 2021 TED Fellow, is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Brothers Empowered to Teach (BE2T). He is the chief fundraiser and ensures that the vision and culture match the mission. Larry is the creator and mastermind of ‘The Cipher’, which is BE2T’s in-house personal and professional development space.
Before this role, Larry was a teacher and high school football coach. He is a member of the Andover Breadloaf Teacher Network and will be pursuing a master’s degree from the Middlebury Breadloaf School of English. A New Orleans, Louisiana native, Larry earned his associate’s degree in journalism and media arts from Delgado Community College, followed by a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a concentration in rhetorical theory and public address from Louisiana State University. He is a 2016 Camelback Fellow and a member of the WKKF Kellogg Leadership Network.
Educational attainment was always a point of emphasis for Larry growing up. Raised by an early childhood educator, Larry’s mother spent 23 years as a teacher for the Jefferson Parish Head Start program. Larry was most inspired by his mother’s perpetual benevolence, which extended from the classroom deep into the community, and he continues to weave those same values throughout his work.
My personal journey has set the tone for my leadership. I’ve seen and witnessed an abundance of pain personally. That has given me a humility, kindness, and touch of grace that is rare in this space. So many leaders lead from a scarcity mindset and allow their titles and positioning dictate their treatment of people. Though I’m an executive leader, I carry the humility of a dishwasher. Because I worked as dishwasher as a grown man in my thirties, I approach the work and my staff from a ground up view, not top down.
I am finding that as I do work in the education space, many have deemed me an “authentic” leader. However, I find it more and more difficult to be viewed as a leader with a deep arsenal of skills and competencies. It seems easier for people to box me in as merely a charismatic leader without taking the time to see my substance and work ethic. I’m not just charismatic or just substantive. I’m both. It has been hard to get people, even my own supporters and clergy, to acknowledge that fact.
I'm inspired by the doubt that some have in me. I'm motivated by the cultural deficit perspective that associates black men with failure and attributes my or any other black man's achievement to cultural factors alone, without regard to our individual characteristics. I am constantly competing with myself and working to redefining the image of black men in the United States.
Be a cheerleader of yourself.