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Bawabisi
About BMX · In Motion

A living movement for Black male life.

Mission, current programs, and the brothers carrying the work — putting Black love into practice, right now.

BMX brotherhood today
What We Do Today

Mission in practice, right now.

Black Men's Xchange is a home where Black men arrive whole — free from pathology, policing, and prescription. Today that shows up as live podcast episodes, a monthly Vibe Check open mic, mentoring cohorts, wellness and harm-reduction work, and cultural gatherings across chapters.

The through-line is the CTCA framework — Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation — a method for Black male self-definition. Declaration, not reaction.

35+Years of Brotherhood
Since 1989
Legacy
  1. 1989Founded

    Cleo Manago convenes the first Xchange in Los Angeles.

  2. CTCAMethod

    Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation formalized as the framework.

  3. 2025Podcast

    Live podcast episodes and the DEI series launch.

  4. TodayIn Motion

    Monthly gatherings, mentoring, wellness, and cultural work in community.

Mission · Vision · Values

What we stand on. What we stand for.

The north star for the work — and the vocabulary for the brotherhood.

Community rings
01Mission

Put Black love into practice.

Meet the challenges Black men and boys carry — through culturally-affirming community, dialogue, and care.

Bawabisi
02Vision

A world that sees Black men whole.

Black men and boys defining themselves on their own terms — wellness, identity, and leadership across every generation.

Flame
03Values

Ten commitments we carry.

The values below name the practice.

  • Healing & Wellness
  • Cultural Affirmation
  • Brotherhood
  • Authenticity
  • Critical Thinking
  • Self-Determination
  • Leadership
  • Social Justice
  • Love & Respect
  • Unity Through Diversity
Meet the Team

The brothers carrying the work.

Leadership from the communities we serve. Reachable — say hello.

The Bawabisi

Black love, drawn into a symbol.

Black love, drawn in our own image. Designed in 1989 by Cleo Manago, fusing the Nsibidi glyph for love (Nigeria) with the Adinkra symbol for change (West Africa) — and made to represent Black people across the full range of sexual and gender expression, SGL brothers and those of gender variance included.

Two semi-circles face each other: unity and love. The split mirrors — parts of one whole. Adinkra dots signal commitment and pluralism; the split, dots, and color evoke gender. The outer circle holds connectedness through duality — two-spirited, made visible.

See how the Bawabisi lives in the CTCA framework →

Go deeper.

The framework, or the programs where it becomes brotherhood.

The CTCA Framework →All Programs