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Bawabisi
About BMX · Since 1989

Home for Black Men. A movement for Black male life.

For more than three decades, Black Men's Xchange has convened brothers across identity, geography, and generation — building rituals of care, spaces for accountability, and platforms for Black male self-definition.

BMX brotherhood since 1989
Our Story

Founded in 1989. Reaching every generation since.

BMX was founded to create a home where Black men could arrive whole — free from pathology, policing, and prescription. What began as a small circle of dialogue in Los Angeles has grown into a national movement grounded in the CTCA framework: Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation.

Founder and social architect Dr. Cleo Manago set out to build a space that centered Black male self-definition — not as reaction to what others say we are, but as declaration of what we know ourselves to be.

35+Years of Brotherhood
Since 1989
  1. 1989Founded

    Dr. Cleo Manago convenes the first Xchange in Los Angeles.

  2. 1995CTCA

    Critical Thinking & Cultural Affirmation formalized as method.

  3. 2010National

    Chapters and programs replicated across the country.

  4. TodayMovement

    Wellness, mentoring, and cultural work in community.

Mission · Vision · Values

What we stand on. What we stand for.

A clear north star for the work — and a shared vocabulary for the brotherhood we're building.

BMX cube
Mission

Put Black love into practice.

To tackle challenges facing Black men and boys — from social injustice to behavioral health — through culturally-affirming community, dialogue, and care.

Bawabisi
Vision

A world that sees Black men whole.

A future in which Black men and boys define themselves on their own terms — where wellness, identity, and leadership flourish across every generation.

BMX cube
Values

Ten commitments we carry.

Healing, culture, brotherhood, authenticity, critical thinking, self-determination, leadership, justice, love & respect, and unity through diversity.

  • Healing & Wellness
  • Cultural Affirmation
  • Brotherhood
  • Authenticity
  • Critical Thinking
  • Self-Determination
  • Leadership
  • Social Justice
  • Love & Respect
  • Unity Through Diversity
Meet the Team

The brothers carrying the work.

Our leadership reflects the communities we serve — accomplished, credible, and reachable. Say hello.

The Bawabisi

Black love, drawn into a symbol.

The Bawabisi is how we affirm ourselves in our own image — Black love put into practice. Designed in 1989 by Dr. Cleo Manago and associates, it fuses the Nigerian Nsibidi glyph for love with the West African Adinkra symbol for change, and was made to represent Black people across the full range of sexual and gender expression — including same-gender-loving (SGL) brothers and those of gender variance.

Two facing semi-circles carry unity and love. The figure is split symmetrically — parts of a whole that mirror each other. Dots, as in Adinkra, mean commitment and pluralism; the split and dots, with color, evoke gender. The encompassing circle insists on connectedness despite duality — the idea of two-spirited made visible.

See how the Bawabisi lives in the CTCA framework →

Go deeper.

Explore the framework at the heart of our work, or see the programs where the work becomes brotherhood.

The CTCA Framework →All Programs