Obama Administration Calls for ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ Mentors

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers an address during the launch of the “My Brother’s Keeper initiative”., February 27, 2014. PHOTO/White House

When U.S. President Barack Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper initiative in February this year, he called the need for expanded opportunity for young men of color an “issue of national importance.”

The White House on Friday called on Americans to aid in Obama’s goal to expand opportunity for young men of color by pledging to mentor in their communities.

The call for mentors is a part of a series of initial recommendations being released by the My Brother’s Keeper task force, following three months of discussions with public and private sector groups that work directly with young men of color.

For African American, Hispanic, and Native American boys, the opportunity to “make it” doesn’t always arrive. According to the U.S Department of Education, 86 percent of African American and 82 percent of Hispanic and Native American boys read below proficiency by the time they reach fourth grade. The national graduation rate for African American between 2009 and 2010 was 52 percent, for Hispanic males the rate was 58 percent, according to the Schott Foundation for Public Education. The white male graduation rate: 78 percent.

In an effort to address these data points, the My Brother’s Keeper Task force is recommending the launch of a initiative to close the reading gap by third grade and to target schools with high dropout rates for improvement.

Read more: Time