OAKLAND, Calif. ― Former President Barack Obama spoke Tuesday about how to “be a man” and the need to combat stereotypes of masculinity that “trap” young men, specifically young men of color.

“All of us have to recognize that being a man is first and foremost being a good human. That means being responsible, working hard, being kind, respectful, compassionate,” Obama said at aconference for hisMy Brother’s Keeper initiative in Oakland.

“The notion that somehow defining yourself as a man is dependent on, are you able to put somebody else down… able to dominate… that is an old view,” the former president added.

In conversation with NBA star Steph Curry, Obama spoke about the need to create spaces “where young men of color, and young men generally, don’t feel as if to be respected they have to act a certain way.”

“If you’re confident about your strength, you don’t need to show me by putting somebody else down,” Obama said. “Show me by lifting somebody else up.”

“I’ve just been mentored right there,” Curry responded.

At the start of his panel, Obama had introduced himself as “Michelle’s husband” and the Golden State Warriors player as “Ayesha’s husband.”

The men sat on a stage surrounded by two dozen young men of color. In the front rows of the amphitheater near Lake Merritt in Oakland, dozens more young adults, mostly boys and men of color, faced them, having traveled from places like Los Angeles; Yonkers, New York; and Nashville to be there.

The two-daygathering in Oakland was meant to mark five years since Obama started the My Brother’s Keeper initiative. The former president hasdescribed the group’s mission as “working to break down barriers that too often leave boys and young men of color at a disadvantage.”