Show Up and Speak Up: Civic Power Beyond the Ballot w/ John Smith-St. Cyere
Episode Description:
What if the problem was never you, but the system you grew up in? John Smith-St. Cyere grew up in Roxbury and Dorchester in chaos. He got suspended and expelled, and was incarcerated. He went to school for psychology because he thought something was wrong with him. What he found instead was how much the conditions around us shape our lives before we ever get a say.
Today John is the founder of the JL Smith Suicide Prevention Center for Young Black Boys and one of the most outspoken voices at Boston City Hall. We talk about why voting is only a small piece of the advocacy our communities need, what showing up looks like between elections, and why his nonprofit defines suicide as the premature death of Black boys and men, shaped by policy, stress and the systems around them.
In this episode:
From “what’s wrong with me” to “what happened around me”
Why uncomfortable truths matter, and how John handles the backlash
What to do beyond voting: civic groups, community meetings, City Hall hearings
How chronic stress, fight-or-flight and heart disease connect
Start where you are and use what you have
Connect with John: jlsmithspc.org
Resources: The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Maté. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988.
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