People of Alabama: Khalil Faulkner of Fort Mitchell
“There’s always somebody in your circle who you can talk to. I learned that the hard way. I’m the predominantly only child because I’m with my mom. I’m used to, if I’ve got something going on, it’s just me. I don’t want to burden somebody else with it or talk to other people about things. I’ve learned that by doing that, that’s just hurting myself. Closed mouths don’t get fed. It’s freeing, especially when you can find people who you can really sit down and talk to about certain problems. Not only knowing that they’re here, but they’re really here, just right there listening, going back and forth on certain things, and we’re able to bounce ideas off each other to find solutions.” – Khalil Faulkner
Mitchell is a junior at UAB. He was inspired to change his major from computer science to psychology after listening to “The Read” podcast with Kid Fury and Crissle West.
“My end goal is to be a professor in psychology, communications or philosophy. I want more Black people to get into mental health, and a specific part of that is I want Black men to value mental health in a way where they can feel comfortable in the outside world talking about their emotional intelligence. I say specifically with my background as being a Black man, because since my mom is the parent that I’m always around, I was raised with all her sisters. I didn’t really have much male representation. I got all my emotional intelligence from them. They were just amazing.”
Faulkner is from Fort Mitchell near Phenix City.
“I do appreciate when you go real down South. There’s not many cities, it’s just real Southern life, very slow. It’s very calming when you get it in certain spurts. It’s nice to just sit there with yourself. You get to start to develop a peace of mind because it’s nothing but yourself. You get to reflect on a lot of things.”
Faulkner hopes to be a great role model for his little sisters on his dad’s side of the family.
He says that one decision changed the course of his life.
“Accepting myself.”
These are the faces and stories of people from all walks of life who call Alabama home. People of Alabama is a Red Clay Media and Alabama News Center partnership.