Tyrese Jackson, a sophomore at Metro Institute of Technology, and Sen. Sherrod Brown

Tyrese Jackson, a sophomore at Metro Institute of Technology, and Sen. Sherrod Brown

 

COLUMBUS, OH – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today met with program leaders, mentors and mentees to hear updates on the progress of the Columbus My Brother’s Keeper Initiative. My Brother’s Keeper, launched by President Obama, is a national initiative to address the opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color, and to ensure all young people reach their full potential.

“Ohio is losing future doctors, engineers, teachers, and entrepreneurs because of an opportunity gap,” said Brown. “My Brother’s Keeper is about building strong children, who will grow into the leaders of the future, and who won’t be bound by a society that has too often been set up to hold them back.”

During a roundtable event at the Columbus Urban League, Brown was joined by Stephanie Hightower, President and CEO of the Columbus Urban League. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, State Representative Kevin Boyce and Columbus Councilmember Shannon Hardin also joined the discussion.

The Columbus My Brother’s Keeper initiative works to connect students with community leaders through mentoring relationships and educational events. This program is aligned with the milestones of the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative: to ensure that all youth receive a quality high school education and graduate with the skills and tools needed to advance to postsecondary education or training.

In September 2014, President Obama issued a challenge to cities across the country to become “MBK Communities.” This challenge represents a call to action and encourages communities to implement a coherent cradle-to-college-and-career strategy for improving the life outcomes of all young people to ensure that they can reach their full potential, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or the circumstances into which they are born. Nearly 200 mayors, tribal leaders, and county executives across 43 states and the District of Columbia have accepted the MBK Community Challenge.

The six goals of the Challenge are:

  • Ensuring all children enter school cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally ready;
  • Ensuring all children read at grade level by 3rd grade;
  • Ensuring all youth graduate from high school;
  • Ensuring all youth complete post-secondary education or training;
  • Ensuring all youth out of school are employed; and
  • Ensuring all youth remain safe from violent crime.

 

Brown has been a champion of the My Brother’s Keeper program in Ohio. He led the efforts to launch local My Brother’s Keeper initiatives in Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Toledo, Lorain and Mansfield. He also highlighted existing programs in Dayton and Columbus in the fall of 2015 with Broderick Johnson, Chair of the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force.

 

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