The “My Black is Exhausted” book tour is literally the ultimate interactive event about race! Renown tenured professor Dr. Bryan K. Hotchkins expounds on his new book My Black is Exhausted. Forever in Pursuit of a Racist-free World Where Hashtags Don’t Exist to teach attendees how to navigate the geographies of racism.

Specifically, Dr. Hotchkins expounds on his new book by showing attendees how to safely unpack racial exhaustion. During the experience he explains how society can move beyond racism and reduce race-based trauma through a combination of self-reflection and popular music expression exercises. Bryan places participants at the center of a live and/or Zoom audiobook experience that facilitates an intellectual audience engagement to create cultural empowerment, personal resilience, and community building across racial difference. The halo effect is that even if you are not a person of African descent, you too leave the event understanding how to preserve your holistic wellness.

In the 192 page book, Dr. Hotchkins eloquently unpacks the arc of a racialized past, present and future global history to explain why having an ability to avert racism is a must! Subsequently, he also created the accompanying 200 page Becoming (Un)Exhausted: An Interactive Journal for Moving Beyond Racism project and My Black is Exhausted Art Collection to provide essential perspectives about living in this world of racial unrest through visuals. The journal serves as a guided written template that helps people explain and monitor their racial exhaustion, while the art challenges viewer to explain how they see race. Dr. Hotchkins earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah.

Show costs and what it includes:

Total cost is $5,000 ($3,750 for the event performance and $1,250 for 50 books to be ordered in advance and distributed to select participants who will be in attendance). 

The following is provided:

1. A 90-120 minute discussion and interactive performance about the book;

2. A 60-90 minute presentation entitled Exploring Emotional Intelligence as Hip Hop Lyrics with selected persons (e.g., student leaders/faculty) to discuss emotional mental health strategies and coping preparedness;

3. A 30-minute book signing meet and greet with select attendees prior to the performance; and

4. Attendees receive an opportunity to purchase merchandise at a discount.

Presentation outcomes:

• Leave with a better understanding of how to create a world that is absent of racism.

• Learn to identify race-based psychological, physiological and behavioral harm(s).

• Unpack how we experience and respond to racial exhaustion.