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Obama launches initiative to lift African American and Hispanic men today
U.S. President Barack Obama. PHOTO/File
U.S. President Barack Obama will Thursday launch a personal quest that will outlast his presidency to help young African American men survive and prosper despite deprived violent inner city environments where many grow up.
Obama plans to partner with foundations and businesses on an initiative known as “My Brother’s Keeper” to connect boys and young men to support networks and to equip them with the skills needed to go to college or get good jobs.
“For decades, opportunity has disproportionately lagged behind for boys and young men of color particularly in our African American and Hispanic communities,” said Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama’s closest advisers.
The initiative will represent a political full circle of sorts for Obama, as he got his start in politics as a community organizer in African American neighborhoods in Chicago.
He has also spoken and written of his own struggle for identity and against adversity as an African American youth, though he has tended to downplay his race for much of his presidency.
The White House says that 86 percent of African American boys and 82 percent of Hispanic boys fall below reading proficiency levels by the time they are 10 years old. By comparison, 58 percent of white boys are reading below proficiency levels by the same age.
A disproportionate number of African American and Hispanic men are also in jail, further undermining the structure of family life in their communities and creating a vicious cycle of deprivation.
