The initiative, first created in 2014 following the murder of African American teen Trayvon Martin. The initiative has grown into a independent nonprofit organization which will remain in place long after President Obama leaves the White House in 2017. Commentators have said that this event is a glimpse into the kinds of activities President Obama will do when he retires from public office.
President Barack Obama unveiled on Monday his new volunteer program, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, aimed at helping young men of color to achieve lifelong success. The initiative’s launch was held at Lehman College campus in the Bronx, NY during a roundtable event covering race relations in the United States.
"It was very great meeting the President today; meeting him has a lot of impact om my life,” said Vasiki Donzo, a Masters in Biology student at Barauch College who attended the event. “If I was not thinking about being positive, I think this is the best time for me to be a positive person."
Among the attendees were notable figures like Charles Rangel, U.S Representative for New York’s 13th Congressional District, Congresswoman Yvette Diane Clarke, Assemblyman Michael Blake, Debra Lee, CEO of Black Entertainment Television, and Reverend Al Sharpton.
Margot Mifflin, an English and Journalism professor at Lehman College, who happens to be a former classmate with the President, shared her input on the program.
“This initiative is really significant,” she said. “It’s something that would help young men become the kind of person President Obama is now, and sets an example like he did.”
The initiative, first created in 2014 following the murder of African American teen Trayvon Martin. The initiative has grown into a independent nonprofit organization which will remain in place long after President Obama leaves the White House in 2017. Commentators have said that this event is a glimpse into the kinds of activities President Obama will do when he retires from public office.
“As a Black man of course, whenever I’m seen outside of a shirt or tie, I’m seen as a thug to be honest with you, by those who may not know me, so those are some of the struggles that I have to go through,” said Jordan Dejoie, a Masters student at Lehman College, who was one of the few students who got the opportunituity to partake in the roundtable. “I know with certain initiatives like this, it would allow Black men to be seen in a different light.”
Donzo, a Liberian native added, “Sometimes, some brothers in the community feel isolated from other people because they have not given a certain chance. We have to work as a community leaders to make them know that they are not isolated from the society.”
As the United States struggles with continues struggling with race relations, tensions in Baltimore continue to simmer after the death of 25 year old African American Freddie Gray, President Obama echoed words of encouragement to the crowd moving forward.
“Every young person in this country has opportunity and that is why we are all here today, because we believe in the idea that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you came from, no matter what your circumstances were, if you work hard, if you take responsibility, then America is a place where you can make something of your lives," Obama said. “We can’t guarantee everyone success, but we do strive to guarantee an equal shot for everyone who is willing to work for it.”
Assemblyman Blake, a Bronx native and former White House correspondent, added to Obama’s sentiments saying, “My Brother Alliance is showing these young men of color, ‘You matter.’ We are going to make sure that you matter. We are not just going to be here when crisis happen. We are going to be here all the time for you, and so being in the Bronx, this was a transformational day. A lot of people never would’ve thought a President would be in the Bronx and he was here to show these African young men, these Latino young men, these African American young men, you matter, your lives matter.”
He also shared why My Brother’s Keeper is dear to him.
“I grew up in the Bronx. This is personal for me because all the young peoples’ story, that’s my story, and so when I talking to them, I’m like, ‘Look, I know it’s hard, I know it’s not easy, but it’s not impossible to realize your dreams,’” he said.
I think this initiative has the opportunity to really change the conversation on how we invest energy around Black and Latino, African, all men of color, young men of color. It would get more groups to put their resources towards it, support behind it. They will start to see and understand it.
Rehearsing the words of the President during his speech, Dejoie ended saying, “Many of us, we have the talent and we are just as smart as the next person, but we don’t have the same opportunities that everyone has, and My Brothers Keeper initiative is one of the things that will allow men of color to have the opportunities that anyone else has.”