“My Brother’s Keeper” initiative, urging stronger efforts to create more
opportunities for young minority men and to improve conditions that keep them
impoverished and imprisoned in disproportionate numbers.
Obama said
these young men consistently do worse in society, with odds stacked against
them. “By almost every measure the group that’s facing some of the most severe
challenges in the 21st century in this country are boys and young men of
color,” Obama said, ticking off statistics on fatherhood, literacy, crime and
poverty.
He said there
have been improvements — “My presence is a testament to that progress,” Obama
said. But he said more must be done because it’s a moral and economic issue
facing the country.
Obama spoke from the White House East Room flanked
by teenagers involved in the Becoming a Man program to help at-risk boys in his
hometown of Chicago. He said he sees himself in them.
“I made bad
choices. I got high, not always thinking about the harm it could do. I didn’t
always take school as seriously as I should have. I made excuses. Sometimes I
sold myself short,” Obama said.
Meanwhile,
Obama signed a presidential memorandum creating a government-wide task force to
evaluate the effectiveness of various approaches, so that federal and local
governments, community groups and businesses will have best practices to follow
in the future. An online “What Works” portal will provide public access to data
about programs that improve outcomes for young minority men.
Obama’s pledge to take action came during his
State of the Union address last month, when he warned that young, black men face “especially tough odds to stay on
track and reach their full potential.” Obama himself grew up in a single-parent
household, and has said he and some members of his staff were challenged and
tempted by the same societal ills plaguing younger generations of minority
males.
The White House
listed a litany of facts showing the need for the effort: The unemployment rate
for African-American men over the age of 20 was 12 percent last month, compared
with 5.4 percent for white men. Hispanic men over the age of 20 faced an
unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. The U.S. Census Bureau showed a poverty rate
of 27.2 percent in black households and 25.6 percent for Hispanic households in
2012, compared with 12.7 percent in white and 11.7 percent in Asian households.
Those already
working to better the lives of young minority men called Thursday’s
announcement an “unprecedented moment,” to have the White House publicly allied
with their cause.
“The president
of the United States has never taken a stand suggesting that our nation
mobilize its resources to improve opportunity for this population,” said Gail
C. Christopher, vice president of program strategy at the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation, which focuses its resources on vulnerable children who face poverty
and discrimination.
The phrase “my
brother’s keeper” comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible, where God asks
Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, for the location of his brother Abel, who Cain
had killed. In some versions, Cain replies: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Obama
has quoted those Bible verses several times during his presidency, saying
Americans should look out for each other.
Freed from the pressure
of seeking re-election, Obama also has taken a more visible role on issues
affecting minorities.
The president,
who famously said — “I’m not the president of black America. I’m the president
of the United States of America” — has moved to commute sentences for
nonviolent drug offenders, hoping to combat sentencing disparities that
disproportionately imprison minorities. His attorney general, Eric Holder, this
month encouraged states to repeal laws that permanently bar felons from voting
even after they have served their sentences. And Obama identified personally
with the issue last year when he declared, after the acquittal of George
Zimmerman, that Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed in an encounter with
Zimmerman in Florida, “could have been me 35 years ago.”
The White House
has been strongly criticized by some civil rights leaders for not using the
presidential bully pulpit to do enough to address generations of disadvantage
borne by the African-American community. But things are changing, said NAACP
Interim President Lorraine Miller, who along with other civil rights groups met
with the president in the White House last week.
“I think he’s
looking at a more strategic way how he can make an impact in the African-American
community (not only) with employment but with health care and all the kind of
issues we face every day,” said NAACP Interim President Lorraine Miller in
response to a question from The Associated Press on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers.”
Obama announced 'My Brother's Keeper'
(CNN) - In a moving and heartfelt message
Thursday, President Barack Obama challenged young minority men to make good
choices.
"Part of
our message in this initiative is 'no excuses'. Government and private sector
and philanthropy and all the faith communities, we have the responsibility to
provide you the tools you need," he said at a White House event.
"We need
to help you knock down some of the barriers that you experience," he
continued. "That's what we are here for but you have responsibilities
too."
A White House
official said Obama improvised a good portion of his remarks and was more
emotional than many planners of the event anticipated.
Those who
participated in a White House meeting Thursday about the new program included
NBA legend Magic Johnson, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Secretary of
State Colin Powell, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
"What I
explained to them was I had issues too when I was their age," Obama said
last year. "I just had an environment that was a little more forgiving, so
when I screwed up, the consequences weren't as high as when kids on the South
Side screw up."
In his
announcement Thursday, Obama also talked about marijuana. He said he "got
high" when he was younger - an admission he's referenced multiple times
since taking office and he describes in his memoir "Dreams of My
Father."
"I didn't
have a dad in the house. And I was angry about it, even though I didn't
necessarily realize it at the time. I made bad choices. I got high, not always
thinking about the harm that it would do," he told a crowd at the White
House.
Obama said in
an interview with The New Yorker that, while he still viewed pot smoking
negatively, the drug wasn't the social ill that it's been viewed as in the
past, and that he didn't see marijuana as any more dangerous than alcohol.
The President's
comments sparked headlines and continued calls by activists to reclassify marijuana
as a less dangerous substance, but the White House said the administration does
not plan to change their policy on marijuana laws.
Barack Obama
Barack
Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States, and
the first African American to hold the office.
Born: August 4, 1961 (age
52), Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Office: President of the United
States since 2009
Spouse:
Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
Siblings: Malik Abongo Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, Abo Obama, George Obama, David Ndesandjo, Bernard Obama, Auma Obama Ndesandjo, Abo Obama, George Obama, David Ndesandjo, Bernard Obama, Auma Obama
