Yesterday President Obama held a press conference to announce the launch of My Brother' Keeper, a Federal program aimed at giving young American men of color more opportunity. In essence, this program is about building up young black and Latino men - something that has needed to happen for decades in our country.
President Obama spoke candidly and emotionally about his own experiences. How he grew up without a father, and the subsequent anger and frustration he felt. These emotions led to his making of "bad choices" and "...not taking school as seriously as I should have". The biggest statement he made was "Sometimes I sold myself short." These were powerful words from a man of color - the first to be elected President. What made it even better was he stated these things with a group of young black and Latino men standing behind him.
This is a great first step. When I was teaching in Newark I was an eyewitness to the anger and frustration the boys and young men in my school had. I had countless conversations with them in my classroom about their lives. Many told me about fathers in jail or who were just absent. The ones who did have men in their lives didn't just differ emotionally and intellectually, but also physically. It was unreal.
My Brother's Keeper is a first step. President Obama himself said "It's going to take time. We're dealing with complicated issues that run deep in our history, run deep in our society, and are entrenched in our minds." In addition to complicated issues faced by our young men of color, there is also poverty as well as mass incarceration. Trying to get a handle on improving self esteem as well as responsibility and potential, again, is a great first step.
We will see what happens.
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