by Kandiss Edwards
August 4, 2025
The XCEL Summit For Males, previously often known as the Black Males XCEL Summit, has a historical past of celebrating Black males.
Since its launch in August 2017, the (BMX) Black Males XCEL Summit, now the XCEL Summit For Males, has change into a signature occasion for BLACK ENTERPRISE. The summit’s focus is to have a good time and elevate the non-public {and professional} accomplishments and development of Black males.
A multi-day occasion, the XCEL Summit For Males is designed as a response to a rising want: Black males want areas that transcend boardrooms. Moreover, the XCEL Summit For Males is an area the place Black males obtain their flowers and are poured into. An area that acknowledges the distinctive place of Black males striving for excellence. An area that champions and actively helps tangible skilled development.
“Black Males XCEL is each a declaration and a quantum leap ahead within the recognition of the achievements, management, and excellence of Black males,” mentioned BE President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves in 2017. “It’s the good alternative for Black males—and the ladies who love them—to indulge, have a good time, and revel in themselves.”
The inaugural occasion featured esteemed Black males of excellence, together with movie director Robert Townsend, REVOLT Media Co-Founder Keith Clinkscales, and Emmy-winning broadcaster Ed Gordon, amongst others. Moreover, the late Rep. John Lewis acquired the primary XCEL Award for Excellence and Management. Later honorees to obtain the award, renamed the Earl G. Graves Vanguard Award, embrace T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Chenault, Tommie Smith, Jesse Jackson, Ben Crump, and Anthony Anderson, amongst others.
Workshops akin to The way to Be a Mogul: Constructing Your Empire with Way of life Elements,” golf tournaments, spa experiences, and wellness activations had been facilitated to nurture the soul of Black males. From discussions on entrepreneurship and fatherhood to wellness check-ins and psychological well being talks, the summit positioned itself as a well-rounded expertise.
Black ladies had been welcomed and likewise featured within the programming. In a panel titled “Ladies Uncensored: Why We Love Black Males,” many shared unfiltered reflections to supply the summit an area for mutual respect and acknowledgement from the Black ladies’s neighborhood.
This yr’s XCEL Summit For Males takes place Oct. 15-17, on the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Orlando. It comes at a time when assaults on Black professionals and executives are rising. Subjects will embrace Black males’s psychological well being, the pressures of management, and what it takes to thrive in company and cultural areas which can be generally unwelcoming. There will likely be a bunch of networking and ability development alternatives.
The XCEL Summit For Males stays a strong gathering that fosters development, celebration, and legacy-building, inside and outdoors the C-suite.
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