Coffee Talks @ 21c: Violence as an Expression of Love

Coffee Talks at 21c is a monthly conversation series that creates space for critical conversations around healing, justice, and community transformation in St. Louis. This month, we are honored to partner with Mission: St. Louis for Violence as an Expression of Love. How does love turn violent? Can violence ever be understood as love misdirected?

This Coffee Talk confronts one of the most uncomfortable truths about human connection: that pain, control, and even protection are often expressed through the language of violence in our homes, neighborhoods, and relationships.

Together, we’ll explore how cycles of trauma and masculinity shape behavior, how communities normalize harm as care, and what it takes to transform destructive love into restorative action.

Leaders from Mission: St. Louis will share how their work helps men and families rewrite these narratives through mentorship, workforce development, and programs designed to break generational cycles of poverty and violence.

Join us for an unfiltered, compassionate, and necessary conversation about the roots of violence and the radical possibility of healing through accountability, understanding, and community.