The Good Men Project: Reading and Discussion with Julio Medina and James Houghton 11/16 At The Tank

Julio Medina. James Houghton. One man grows up on the streets, becomes a drug lord, and gets sent to Sing Sing for eight years. The other grows up in the shadow of his father, a prominent businessman, and must decide whether to inherit the legacy being handed down to him.

The two are linked by their quest to discover the answer to the question "What does it mean to be a good man?" It's the question being asked nationwide by The Good Men Project, which uses the power of storytelling to get at important truths that men are grappling with in this day and time.

The Good Men Project started with a book, and has since evolved into a film, an online discussion and a series of live events around the nation. The book -- "The Good Men Project: Real Stories from the Front Lines of Modern Manhood" is a collection of 31 essays that speaks to a diverse range of men's stories, from the point of view of the defining moment in each.

Julio writes:

"In Sing Sing, my cell was so small that I could stand in the middle of it and touch both walls. Those walls were metal, so in the summer it got really hot in the cells. Most days it was 120 degrees. When the guards walked by, that was my air-conditioning-that little breeze they made.

They sold little fans for the cells, but I refused to buy one. I wanted to feel every f-ing day of that prison sentence."

And James:

"But I was embarrassed by the attention I received. I became hypersensitive to our last name. I prayed that teachers would not call out "Houghton" when taking attendance. I worried that friends wanted to play with me only because I was a Houghton. I even insisted to bullies on the playground that my name was Richard Smith. I would lie on the floor of my dad's Mercedes when we drove around town and would beg my parents to drop me off three blocks from school so that no one would see me get out of the car. I rarely asked other kids over to play, fearing their reaction to our large, modern house; my fantasy was to live as my best friend did, in a cramped, three-bedroom ranch with five siblings and a TV in the kitchen.

Julio and James will alternate the reading of their essays, which will be followed by a question and answer session moderated by Joel Schwartzberg, author "The 40-Year-Old Version: Humoirs of a Divorced Dad."

For more info visit: www.goodmenbook.org

About The Tank
Founded in 2003, The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter whose mission is to provide a welcoming, creative, collaborative, and affordable environment for artists and activists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas. Through a wide range of low-cost, high-concept arts and public affairs programming, The Tank seeks to cultivate a new generation of audience for live performance, civic discourse, and the work of emerging artists.