President Barack Obama’s legacy program to address opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color nationwide on Friday launches its first action plan to impact youth in one urban area — here in his hometown.
“We’re excited, because this action plan was built on both the work of groups and individuals that have long been rolling up their sleeves and working in South and West Side communities to stand in the breach for these boys and young men, as well as on the voices of the young men themselves,” said Michael Strautmanis of the Obama Foundation.
“Everybody talks about the violence, and we are horrified by it, but that’s just one piece. There are young men in this city playing by the rules who aren’t getting opportunities they deserve. President Obama sees himself in these young men and believes it’s our responsibility to give them those opportunities.”
My Brother’s Keeper, the program Obama initiated from the White House in February 2014, then adopted after his presidency by forming the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance in 2015 — was in 2017 brought under the umbrella of his foundation, which has been providing groups nationwide with seed grants to develop action plans tackling the plight of these youth.
The first such plan, to be announced at an all-day summit being held Friday at the Downtown Chicago Cultural Center, tackles issues facing young men of color in Chicago. Spearheaded by the nonprofit Thrive Chicago, the 10-point roadmap brings together private and public groups to address in new and innovative ways issues such as mentoring, social and emotional learning, education and employment.
“Thrive partnered with the Obama Foundation to design this plan, and over the past six months, went across the South and West Sides of this city, holding workshops and design-thinking sessions with over 200 young people, asking, ‘How in Chicago can we better support boys and young men of color?’ ” said Thrive President Sandra Abrevaya.
“What was most important to us was that this action plan or set of insights and recommendations be driven and shaped directly by young people.”
Among the key findings in the resulting “Being My Brother’s Keeper in Chicago” report: Boys and young men of color need more opportunities earlier on to identify their own purpose in life and want to be seen as people, not as racist stereotypes. They don’t have the information they need and feel like they have to get in trouble to get help.
According to the report, 1 in 5, or 47,000, young men of color ages 16 to 24 in Chicago are disconnected — not in school and not employed.
Key aspects of the plan include: Community trainings offering resources and tools to groups to support these youth, support for informal mentor/supporters, new school curriculum to help youth find/ pursue purpose, elimination of the term “at risk,” ensuring there is help for any youth in need and increased investment in programs that serve them.
“That’s what ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ is all about. Helping more of our young people stay on track. Providing the support they need to think more broadly about their future. Building on what works — when it works, in those critical life-changing moments,” is how Obama has described it.
Five Chicago organizations were recipients of the seed grants given out nationwide last year, and they have worked alongside Thrive and another lead group, Youth Guidance — which runs the famed Becoming A Man program — in developing the plan.
“We are really trying to create a unified citywide approach on how we can walk with young men of color, listen to their voices, really amplify their voices, and guide them, while learning from them as well,” said Matt DeMateo, executive director of the New Life Centers of Chicagoland, which works with gang-involved or previously incarcerated youth in Little Village and Humboldt Park.
“A lot of our young men of color struggle and are seen as part of the problem. We, however, see them as the solution, and this action plan is really to show them that we’re standing with them. It’s time to let them lead.”
