The Roles We Play to Survive Black Men & the Cost of Integration

 

In this candid episode of Help the People, host Shannon Riley breaks down the hidden roles Black men are pushed into just to survive systems that were never designed for us. From the street boss to the corporate mask-wearer, the respectability survivor to the politician negotiating impossible choices Shannon unpacks the masks, performances, and survival tactics Black men learn long before we even know we’re learning them.

This episode isn’t about judgment. It’s about truth. It’s about naming the quiet pressures that shape our behavior, our identity, and our sense of belonging.

Shannon offers a raw, reflective exploration of the nine major roles Black men perform to “integrate,” revealing how these roles are less about selling out and more about surviving trauma, expectation, and the weight of being unseen.

If you’ve ever felt like you had to shrink, adapt, perform, or disappear just to be accepted, this episode will speak directly to your soul.