Earlier this year, President Obama unveiled the "My Brother's Keeper" Initiative to address the opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color; to ensure that young people can reach their full potential. In other words, "Helping our young people stay on track".
Some key indicators of this Tasks Force initiative are as follows:
- Entering school ready to learn
- Reading at grade level by the 3rd grade
Graduating from HS ready for college & career
- Completing post-secondary education or training
- Entering the workforce and
- Reducing violence & providing a second chance
Now that you have some facts, let's have some discussion. Why after six years in office is President Obama now addressing and/or acknowledging the needs of Black people? Is this initiative about his legacy as a president or is it something more? Let's look a little deeper, this initiative addresses black boys and young men only; what about the exclusion of young Black women? Do we revert back to the days when women take pride in finding a husband, get pregnant and go back to the kitchen? Let's be honest we probably wouldn't revert back to that exact scenario because many women are dating other women, its becoming increasingly difficult to identify the young women from the men. There are young women in our communities that are more menacing than the young men. There are young men swishing around like women; we have a sexuality crisis on our hands that affect both our young men and women. It will be detrimental to our communities to leave any one group behind. They are both being shot down in the streets and considered less than human.
This initiative is also being co-lead by Magic Johnson, really? As I look at you with a blank disturbed stare; moving on. The program focuses on schooling & tutoring but doesn't address the discrimination baked into the criminal justice system. There is no policy change to keep our young men from being harassed & gunned down by the same people who are supposed to serve and protect them.
What about addressing jobs, job training, free education, and income inequality in this initiative? Matching foundations with corporations will not change the condition of black people in America. How does giving charitable dollars intended to help Black boys to white organizations help? The community needs to get the resources to run the programs. This program lacks the grassroots leadership and under-representation of Black organizations & agencies... Failing to include these stakeholders undermines the integrity of the initiative.
So in conclusion, it looks symbolic to me; what do you think?