The White House Blog

Last February at the White House, the Administration was just preparing to launch My Brother’s Keeper, an effort to unlock the full potential of boys and young men of color and all youth — something that would not only benefit them, but all of America. Now, almost a full year from that day, we are hosting the My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge National Convening here at the White House tomorrow.

The six universal goals identified in the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force report are forming the backbone of a larger effort in which cities, towns, and Tribal Nations across America are taking up the President’s call to improve life outcomes for all young people in their communities to create a society in which no one gets left behind and where all children have opportunities to succeed.

The Convening will bring together representatives from local communities across the country that accepted the Community Challenge and hosted local action summits so they can inspire and learn from each other. Experts from the private and public sectors will offer their insights and evidence-based suggestions on how to bring about real change. We are grateful to see that there are so many who have embraced the President’s call to action and are making real progress to expand opportunity for all our youth.

In a recent visit to Indianapolis, an MBK Challenge Community by the way, the President addressed the crowd and perfectly summed up his vision for MBK. He said “we have to have an affirmative agenda to make sure that young people feel hope and opportunity and pathways” and acknowledged that “the interest and involvement [in MBK] has surprised even [him]. People have been really generous and stepped up to the plate.”

We strive to continue to build hope and opportunity in America, and increase the ever-growing number of partners contributing to this important work. We are excited about working with those communities that have responded to the call of action as we know that, together, we can make a huge impact on the lives of children and youth across the nation.

Watch opening remarks at the Convening by Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, and Attorney General Eric Holder.