NASHVILLE, TN — The third annual “Spare Your Mind” Doubles Bowling Tournament will be held Saturday, May 30th, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Hermitage Strike and Spare, 3436 Lebanon Pike. Participants help create safe spaces, community connection, and raise awareness to break the stigma around mental health, especially for men, through bowling. Barbers will be on hand, offering free haircuts.
The winning double, or pair of bowlers will each receive a custom-made, gold World Wresting Entertainment (WWE) Championship belt. Register to compete in the bowling tournament at givebutter.com/nashvillepeacemakersbmvt. A donation of $25 is required; proceeds benefit Nashville Peacemakers, a nonprofit that works to create safer neighborhoods. Following the event, organizers will share content widely on their social media channels.
Tournament organizers are father and son, Leon Davis, Jr. and Johnathon Davis. Together they produce a podcast called “Black Men Vent Too” (BMVT), the voice of their multicultural, mental health organization of the same name, which gives men a platform to speak freely and heal openly about mental health, while bridging gaps and providing resources. The podcast is known widely in many Nashville circles and on social media: Instagram: @blackmenvent2; Facebook: Black Men Vent Too; Tiktok: @blackmenventtoo; and, YouTube: Black Men Vent Too.
The BMVT podcast, available for download on all channels, grew out of informal, yet structured, conversations in the home of the elder Davis six years ago. Father and son each invited a group of their friends over to “meet and greet,” with a little food to spice things up, and just talk about whatever was going on in their lives.
“Once we came together, we found that we could share each other’s ideas, encourage and uplift each other,” said the elder Davis. He could share some of his experiences, as an older man, but also learn what happens in the younger men’s world, he said.
The elder Davis’ wife supported the effort, writing questions on pieces of paper placed inside a bowl, on the food table. Each man would pick out a question and give his answer during the conversation. Questions like: How did you feel when you had your first heartbreak? When or if you lost a job? When your grandmother died? When confronted by another man? Each man would the answer the question drawn, said the elder Davis.
The elder Davis, an associate pastor at St. James Missionary Baptist Church, said the inter-generational conversations were a way to give back to the community, especially for young men. His church, a pillar for more than 100 years in North Nashville.
Following a break in the conversations during the COVID pandemic, Leon Davis, Jr. and son Johnathon decided to start them again, and take them to the mic. Thus, began the “Black Men Vent Too” podcast.
Johnathon Davis, an avid content creator, has helped the podcast soar, popping up at expungement clinics and all over social media. Guests on the show are typically young men sharing about their efforts to correct past mistakes and improve their lives, as well as local government leaders expressing compassion and encouragement. The latter group has included Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry, Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Metro Property Assessor Vivian Wilhoite, Juvenile Court Judge Shelia Calloway, and TV personality Judge Joe Brown, a former Memphis Criminal Court Judge.
