Gazette
President Obama Launches “My Brother’s Keeper”
To Help Young Minority Men
Uplift, Educate, Empower and Promote
Psi Phi Omega Fraternity, Inc.
By Liz Goodwin, Yahoo News
President Barack Obama announced on Tursday a $200 million commitment from nine foundations to bolster the lives of
young men and boys of color.
The funding is part of a larger
initiative from the White House to
bring private businesses, nonprofits and local governments together to intervene in key moments in the lives of young black
and Hispanic men to ensure they
stay in school and eventually train
for and get good jobs.
As Yahoo News first reported, the cause will be a major
focus of Obama’s — and the first
lady’s — even after he leaves office. "It’s something that's deeply
personal to the president and first
lady,” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior
adviser to the president and the
Obamas’ closest friend from Chicago. “I’m sure their commitment
to this initiative will be a lifelong
commitment. This is not something they simply want to do
while he’s in office — it will continue.”
The president personally ordered his senior staff to come up
with this new “My Brother’s
Keeper” initiative in the wake of
the shooting of Florida teen Trayvon Martin two years ago. Obama
— who was criticized by civil
rights leaders for avoiding racebased initiatives and conversations while in office — was deeply
moved by Martin’s death, and he
tasked his staff with creating a
holistic, research-based approach
to helping young minority boys
succeed and avoid violence.
The president will create a new
interagency My Brother’s Keeper
Task Force headed by Broderick
Johnson, the Cabinet secretary
and assistant to the president.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan,
Attorney General Eric Holder,
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez
and other senior officials will be
personally involved in “My
Brother’s Keeper,” according to
Jarrett.
Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City who
started and funded an initiative in
the city aimed at young black
men, joined the president for the
3:45 p.m. announcement of the
program at the White House on
Thursday, along with business
leaders including former NBA star
Magic Johnson. The White House
initiative is in part modeled on
Bloomberg’s and seeks to intervene in the lives of boys at key
points: by providing prekindergarten education, lifting third-grade
reading
proficiency,
leading
schools away from “zero tolerance” disciplinary policies that
kick misbehaving students out of
school, and persuading businesses to train and hire young
men of color.
It’s still unclear just how broad
the initiative will be beyond the
$200 million nonprofit investment. Jarrett told reporters on
Wednesday that the White House
is still signing on private businesses and does not have a final
number for how much they have
committed to “My Brother’s
Keeper.” The White House hopes
corporations will pledge to mentor and hire young minority men.
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