For many of us, May is a month we begin to embrace joy and beauty all around—blooming flowers in full color, daylight stretching longer, and the season’s increasing warm temperatures. It’s a month we tend to celebrate our youth achieving various milestones, from primary to college levels, for these represent the promise and potential they possess.
May is also an opportunity to amplify National Returning Youth Month to honor and support youth re-entering society after incarceration. Founded in 2022 by the Returning Youth Initiative, this observance encourages the removal of stigma associated with those coming out of incarceration and urges a recommitment toward building pathways to dignity, opportunity, and lasting change.
In celebrating youth this month, we must act—with intention and determination—to uplift all young people, especially Black and Brown youth, who face structural barriers compounded by racism, poverty, and underinvestment. Mentorship, sponsorship, and advocacy aren’t optional extras—they are lifelines.
- Mentorship offers guidance and wisdom that can change the course of a young person’s life.
- Sponsorship opens doors, sharing not just advice but access to opportunities.
- Advocacy challenges systems and policies that have too often failed our youth.
This May, I invite you to reflect on what it truly means to stand beside our young people—not just during a celebratory month, but every single day.
For this month’s podcast episode, my guest embodies this commitment: 3x Super Bowl Champion, sports analyst and tv commentator for NBC Sports: Football Night in America and Westwood Sports, social justice activist, philanthropist, community advocate, Devin McCourty. While many know him for his accomplishments on the football field, his work off the field is equally impactful. Devin has dedicated himself to youth empowerment, health and education equity, and social justice reform. We discuss about what it means to show up for young people and their families—and why doing so isn’t charity, it’s community.
Episode 57 with Devin McCourty debuts Tuesday, May 13 2025 and will be available on https://yndialorickwilmot.com/talking-journeysb2b-a-podcast-episodes/talking-journeysb2b-a-podcast-episodes/ and across all podcast platforms.
And in the meantime, ask yourself: Who am I mentoring? Who am I sponsoring? Who am I advocating for? Can’t wait to learn all about how you are choosing to uplift and celebrate our youth in your community and beyond!
Peace and blessings,
Dr. Yndia & the Belonging to Blackness, LLC team
