Speaking
Melvin speaks from lived experience, not theory. His talks give audiences permission to grieve honestly, and practical ways to heal and keep moving.
Keynote topics
01
Grief, Gun Violence, and the Families Left Behind
I grew up on corners named after people we buried. This talk is about the families who stay behind after the cameras leave, and what it takes to carry a name without letting it crush you.
02
PTSD, Black Men, and Surviving in Silence
A lot of us were taught to hold it. I held it for forty-three years. We talk honestly about trauma in Black men, what silence costs, and what it looks like to finally put it down.
03
The Day I Faced My Father's Killer
In 2025 I sat in a courtroom across from the man who killed my father. This is what I learned about anger, forgiveness, and the difference between the two.
04
Breaking the Cycle of Grief and Violence
Pain that never gets to cry finds another way out. This talk shows how unprocessed grief turns into harm, and how one person deciding to heal can stop it from reaching another family.
05
Leading People Who Are Carrying Loss
Grief doesn't stay home when people come to work. Melvin shares what it was like to build a company and a foundation while privately carrying decades of loss, and what leaders can do to see it.
What audiences leave with