Last week, Governor Cuomo and the Legislature put $20 million in the New York State budget to fund a statewide version of President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper”, making it the first in the country to implement the initiative.
The program launched two years ago to “address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential.” It also addresses keeping young men of color out of prison, community empowerment, putting family first, and increasing educational development in these young people.
Carl Heastie, New York’s first black assembly speaker, said being a Bronx native, he can relate to many of the struggles young men of color face on a daily basis. Heastie also said he is familiar with the statistics surrounding these same boys/men dropping out of school and becoming caught up in the criminal justice system. He believe this program will help shape the conversation for positive change in the lives of these men and will ultimately all children who need extra support.
Obama’s hope for this program is to help prepare young men to be able to read at grade level, go on to college, enter the workforce and lessen the need to utilize violence to get ahead.
