The Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Announces New Initiative to Support Boys and Young Men of Color Across the Country

 

The Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Announces New Initiative to Support Boys and Young Men of Color Across the Country

President Obama Launched the MBK Alliance’s Model Communities Initiative at an Obama Foundation Event in Chicago

CHICAGO – The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a program of the Obama Foundation, announced four MBK Model Communities, a new initiative that seeks to expand the implementation of evidence-based practices and impact for communities across the country. These MBK Model Communities were selected from a network of hundreds that have an evidence-based track record of success in positively shifting outcomes for boys and young men of color. The four are: Newark, New Jersey; Omaha, Nebraska; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Yonkers, New York, each representing a tangible example of the systems-level impact that communities can have when working to achieve the MBK Milestones. The MBK Milestones are six key life milestones that research shows are especially predictive of later success, and where interventions can have the greatest impact.

“In 2014, in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death, I challenged every community in the country to implement strategies to help boys and young men of color,” said President Obama. “Today, I’m proud to see the incredible impact My Brother’s Keeper Alliance communities are having – helping hundreds of community leaders across the country solve problems for the next generation. Thanks to the tireless efforts of MBK communities, cities like Newark, Omaha, Tulsa, and Yonkers have changed the odds – creating opportunities for our young people to achieve their full potential. The MBK Model Communities initiative represents the next phase of the MBK Alliance’s work to help communities take on their biggest challenges – and I look forward to continuing this work alongside them for years to come.”

“As we strive to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color across the country, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance is proud to launch our new MBK Model Communities initiative,” said Dr. Adren Wilson, MBK Alliance Executive Director. “The four Model Communities we recognized today represent the tangible impact that can be achieved when we work together to implement evidence-based practices for our young people. By providing direct coaching, peer-to-peer learning, financial resources, and evaluation support, the MBK Alliance is confident that these Model Communities will serve as beacons of hope and best practices for other communities to follow. Together, we can ensure our boys and young men of color have access to the opportunities they need, including the opportunity to remain safe from violent crime, so that they may reach their full potential.”

Each selected MBK Model Community has achieved significant impact in at least one of the six MBK Milestones by instituting programming and initiatives that have positively shifted outcomes in the educational or violence reduction ecosystems throughout their municipal areas.

MBK Yonkers

MBK Tulsa

MBK Newark

MBK Omaha

The MBK Alliance will provide these MBK Model Communities with the necessary support to continue implementing systems-level change in these areas and to grow their impact in other areas within their municipal infrastructure. Specifically, the MBK Alliance will provide the four selected MBK Model Communities with:

Access to direct coaching, evaluation support, and peer-to-peer learning

Direct resources, including an $800,000 grant ($400,000 a year for two years)

Ongoing technical assistance for each Model Community’s work

By investing in and spotlighting these four MBK Model Communities, the MBK Alliance intends to seed other communities across the country with knowledge, best practices, and resources so that they too can achieve systems-level impact in the lives of boys and young men of color.

The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance is grateful to all of the donors and partners that are currently making its new MBK Model Communities initiative possible and who have long supported the MBK Alliance’s mission to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity:

Ballmer Group

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Enterprise Holdings Foundation

Prudential Financial, Inc.

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