AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 10th Annual Black Male Summit is happening Saturday at the Texas Empowerment Academy, bringing together hundreds of Black boys and men from across Central Texas for a day centered on mentorship, education, entrepreneurship, and healing.

Known as the “Smart’N Up, Man Up Black Male Summit,” the event welcomes participants ranging in age from 8 to 65 and older.

Organizers said the goal is to elevate the mindset of men in the community and create lasting solutions to challenges facing Black families, including economic opportunity, education access, mental health, and community safety.

“The Black Male Summit is designed to continue to focus on things that we have control of, things that we can fix and enhance,” said Robert Muhammad, community activist, organizer, and CEO of the Texas Empowerment Academy.

Throughout the afternoon, attendees are expected to engage in conversations on conflict resolution, criminal justice reform, youth development, entrepreneurship, and manhood, with an emphasis on navigating modern social pressures.

Muhammad said conflict resolution is especially critical as social interactions increasingly take place online.

“We live in a unique time period where social interaction is not the same as it used to be,” Muhammad said. “Most of our young folks’ interactions are not physical anymore.”

He added that online harassment and public shaming can escalate conflict quickly if young people are not equipped with the right tools.

“When I was growing up, you could embarrass me in front of five or six people,” Muhammad explained. “But now, behind a keyboard, I may be embarrassed in front of the entire world. Our children need to know how to deal with conflict without going from zero to 100 or picking up a weapon to deal with discomfort or disappointment.”

Organizers also acknowledged the violence Austin has seen this year, stressing the urgency of proactive community conversations.

“The hope from the Black Male Summit is that we change the thinking and the mindset,” Muhammad said. “If we change the trajectory of young men in our community, we can change the trajectory of our community as a whole.”

Sheldon Lamey, an Austin native and longtime community activist, said the summit creates a rare safe space for honest conversations, including vulnerability and mental health.

“We are actually creating a safe space for our men and boys to come together and talk about issues they’re going through,” Lamey said. “Mental health, education, entrepreneurship, and conflict resolution are all very important because so many things in our community can be solved by just talking things out instead of going to violence.”

Lamey emphasized the importance of redefining manhood for young boys who may lack strong male role models.

“A lot of our boys are growing up in single-parent homes and don’t know what manhood really means because of negative stereotypes,” he said. “The purpose of the Black Male Summit is to show them decent role models.”

He also stressed that the learning goes both ways.

“We all can continue to learn,” Muhammad added. “Whether you’re a mentor, a father, an uncle, a grandfather, or a youth yourself — we encourage everyone to come out and bring a young person with you.”

This year’s summit also highlights preparing young men for the future, including technology and workforce changes.

“We’re going to deal with entrepreneurship, mental health, and education,” Muhammad said. “Being in a tech hub like Central Texas, with the expansion of artificial intelligence, we have to put ourselves in the best position to benefit from the world we’re living in and guide our children in the proper direction.”

Lamey said the summit is especially meaningful as Austin’s Black population continues to shrink.

“Seeing that our Black population has dwindled so much over the past 25 years, this is something we can maintain to help keep our people here in the city,” he said. “We want to be part of the solution.”

The Black Male Summit is open to boys and men of all ages and takes place Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Texas Empowerment Academy, located off East Parmer Lane.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.