Dr. Nicholas Grier
Community Advocate, Public Scholar, Musician, and Mental Health Therapist.
Community
Well-Being
True wellness isn’t just about how someone feels in their body or mind.
It’s about the relationships, communities, and systems we live within every day.
When families are fractured, workplaces are toxic, and policies prioritize profit over people, individuals end up carrying the burden.
I believe that when we reimagine and rebuild our relational, political, and cultural systems to truly support human dignity and connection, we create the kind of environment where everyone has a real chance to flourish.
CARE for the MENTAL and
SPIRITUAL HEALTH
of BLACK MEN
Black men need hope to survive and, ultimately, flourish. As mental health is a critical but often neglected issue, especially among Black men, Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men examines that sensitive topic in conjunction with reflections on race, gender, sexuality, and class to offer a hopeful and constructive framework for care and counseling, particularly for Black men. These are not separate from spiritual health and growth, as well, but both are integral to holistic, dynamic wellbeing. In this, the author provides a careful and critical analysis of spiritual hope and healing as ingredient to individual and communal flourishing. As such, this volume will be a vital resource for health practitioners, spiritual caregivers, and providers in community care who serve to bolster the mental wellbeing of Black men.
"Dr. Grier is an exceptional human being. I had the good fortune to be his student at Willamette University College of Law. His intelligence and knowledge are matched with compassion, empathy, and well-cultivated intentionality. As someone who aspires to be a leader and teacher, Dr. Grier is a model and inspiration."
— Zechariah Shahab-Dirdak 
Meet Nicholas
Dr. Nicholas Grier is a community advocate, public scholar, author, mental health therapist, and ordained minister who integrates justice, healing, faith, and music.
He leads the Coloring Mental Health Collective, teaches at Claremont School of Theology, and helps communities live authentically in their power through listening, community organizing, writing, and speaking rooted in liberation, care, and spiritual resilience.
Inspiring Teacher & Writer
Opportunities to Care for the Well-Being of Black Men
Barbershops as Healing Community
Importance of Home: A Community Approach
Paying Attention to the Emotional Lives of Black Men: A Community Approach
Dr. Grier’s Law Students Share Kind Words:
"Dr. Grier teaches with a kind of care that makes every student feel seen and capable. He encourages you to think bravely and honestly, and he helps you understand both the world and your place in it with greater purpose. His classroom feels like a space where you can grow, ask real questions, and discover what justice truly means. Dr. Grier is a rare kind of educator who inspires people to believe in a better world and in their own ability to help create it."
— Sydney Starr
"As a professor Dr. Grier was able to meet us where we were, both individually and as a class, and then get us to rise up to the level he knew we could achieve. While doing so, he made sure to recognize our individual backgrounds that informed our outlooks and our shared humanity that binds all people together. I do not think I have ever had a class in a college setting come together with such solidarity by the end of a semester. Any student who takes a class taught by him will be lucky to have him as a teacher."
— Arthur Zimmerman"Dr. Grier is passionate and driven for his community's welfare and his student's success. Throughout his course I learned about his commitment to student's well being via self reflection and open discussions. Most importantly, Dr. Grier made students feel validated, seen and heard by creating a safe space for our deepest worries to be spoken and accepted. His teachings not only enlightened us but encouraged us to lead the way toward the improvement of our lives and our community. The lessons from our class will forever be critical to my work as an attorney and life as a human."
— Alejandro Perez Morales
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Grier builds on the strengths of communities and uses his voice to create healing, holistic well-being, and fair opportunities for all people to flourish.
Recent engagements include:
Sankofa CPE Mental Health Conference - Plenary Speaker, Chicago, Illinois, April 21st, 2026
Ubuntu Mental Health Workshop - Workshop Speaker & Facilitator, Atlanta, GA, May 16th, 2026
"Transformed by Love" Sunday Sermon @ Martin Street Church of God - Preacher, Atlanta, GA, May 17th, 2026
In the News
OPB sat down with Dr. Nicholas Grier to discuss his powerful book, Care for the Mental and Spiritual Health of Black Men.
In it, Grier explores how racism, trauma, and neglect impact the inner lives of Black men—and how healing must move beyond survival toward communal and personal flourishing.