My Brother’s Keeper

The City of Milwaukee My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Initiative is the City’s direct response to President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge. It is based on the belief that the members of our community have a shared responsibility to work together to find solutions to ensure that all young people, and especially boys and young men of color, reach their full potential – and it puts their dignity front and center.

The MBK plans ten priorities are:

1. Graduate male students of color from high school ready for college or the workplace.
2. Accept, retain and graduate males of color from post-secondary and job training programs.
3. Make workplaces accessible and attractive to males of color.
4. Retain and promote employees who identify as males of color.
5. Increase the capacity of males of color to combat violence and victimization.
6. Improve the administration of justice for boys and men of color.
7. Protect the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellness of boys and men of color.
8. Fuel creative and entrepreneurial innovations among boys and men of color.
9. Increase the representation and participation of boys and men of color in decision-making bodies and processes across all sectors.
10. Establish alternative community-based institutions to sustain BMOC achievement efforts.

MBK connects Milwaukee to cities doing similar work and to national organizations experienced in connecting boys and young men of color with academic success. It is incumbent on everyone who is willing and able to work together to scale up local efforts on this issue and achieve a Milwaukee where every boy and man of color can live life with a sense of dignity, purpose and limitless potential.