(HKR-04-22-26): On a powerful episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with filmmaker Byron Hurt and Wil DuBose of the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence to unpack the roots of gender based violence and the urgent need for accountability, healing, and community intervention.
The conversation began with Davey D laying out a disturbing pattern of recent high profile cases involving domestic violence, sexual assault, and femicide. He pointed to incidents involving public officials, cultural icons, and community leaders, while also pushing back against media narratives that too often single out Black and Brown men as the sole face of abuse. Instead, he framed gender based violence as a broader societal crisis that cuts across race, class, and institutions.
Hurt, whose work has long examined masculinity and power, spoke about his documentary Men of Courage, a short film that highlights men in New Jersey working to prevent violence and challenge harmful ideas about manhood. He explained that the film grew out of Wil DuBose’s work and was designed to show that these issues are not confined to one region or one group. Whether in New Jersey, California, or anywhere else, many boys are raised with the same harmful lessons about strength, silence, and control.
DuBose expanded on that point by explaining how boys are often taught early on to suppress emotion and avoid vulnerability. Those lessons, he said, do not disappear with age. They shape how men communicate, how they handle pain, and how they behave in relationships. Drawing from more than two decades of experience, DuBose noted that many men who cause harm have also witnessed or survived violence themselves, making this a deeply generational issue.
Both guests stressed that accountability must remain central. Hurt noted that powerful white men often benefit from layers of protection that shield them from consequences, even as Black and Brown men are more quickly condemned in public. Still, both he and DuBose made clear that communities must not turn away from the work of holding men accountable and making women safe.
The discussion also explored the pain and confusion that arise when beloved public figures are accused of abuse. In those moments, the guests argued, people must resist the urge to protect symbols and instead center survivors.
Throughout the hour, Davey D, Hurt, and DuBose returned to one core idea: changing this culture requires spaces where men can speak honestly, confront trauma, reject harmful norms, and redefine masculinity. DuBose’s work through the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence and Hurt’s film both offer concrete examples of what that work can look like.
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