By Byron Tau
President Barack Obama unveiled a new nonprofit on Monday aimed
at assisting young men in disadvantaged communities.
The My Brother's Keeper Alliance, a private spinoff of the Obama
administration's My Brother's Keeper initiative, announced $80
million in private-sector commitments to support men of color from
early childhood into adulthood.
Connecting the subject directly to unrest following police
shootings in Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore and elsewhere, Mr. Obama said
it was essential for society to close the opportunity gap and make
young black and Latino men feel that the country is invested in
their success.
"By almost every measure, life chances of the average young man
of color is worse than his peers," Mr. Obama said at a launch event
in New York City.
"Those opportunity gaps begin early, often at birth, and they
compound over time, becoming harder and harder to bridge, making
too many young men and women feel like, no matter how hard they
try, they many never achieve their dreams," he said.
"That sense of unfairness, powerlessness and people not hearing
their voices, that's help fuel some of the protests we've seen in
places like Baltimore and in Ferguson and right here in New York,"
the president said.
Baltimore has been rocked by protests and unrest after the April
death of a 25-year old black man in police custody. New York City
and Ferguson both saw similar demonstrations after African-American
men died at the hands of police officers in both those cities,
sparking a national conversation about the relationship between
police and some of the communities they're charged with
protecting.
The new nonprofit will aim to boost student achievement in early
childhood, prepare young men for high school, college or vocational
education and support workforce and career development. It will
also aim to reduce violence and help foster second chances.
The foundation has already attracted major corporate commitments
from companies like American Express Co., Deloitte Consulting,
PepsiCo and Sprint Corp., among others. News Corp, which owns the
Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, is also a corporate
sponsor of the effort. The company's executive vice president and
global head of government affairs, Toni Cook Bush, will sit on the
organization's board and leadership team.
The effort to get the nonprofit off the ground has been
spearheaded by Joe Echevarria, the former Deloitte CEO who retired
from the company last year to pursue his interest in public policy
and public service.
Former NBA player Alonzo Mourning, musician John Legend,
Washington consultant Robert Raben, and senior executives at
Deloitte, American Express, Valor Equity Partners, BET, and other
corporations will serve on the foundation's board.
The foundation also provides window into Mr. Obama's
post-presidential life. With less than two years left in his
presidency, Mr. Obama recently said he'd like to like to return to
the kind of community-based organizing that propelled him into
politics as a young man.
A White House spokesman didn't rule out Mr. Obama's future
involvement in the foundation, but said that it would operate
independently of the White House and the Obama administration. The
administration will play no role in screening donations or running
programs.
"You can expect the President will continue to be involved in
these issues, but at this point, I would not commit to any sort of
involvement by the former president directly in the day-to-day
activities of the My Brother's Keeper Alliance," press secretary
Josh Earnest said Monday.
The Obama administration first launched My Brother's Keeper as a
public-private sector initiative in February 2014.
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