Obama to Announce Young Men of Color Initiative

Feb 11, 2014

UPDATE 02/13/2014 AT 5:00PM EST — The White House postponed today’s announcement of the "My Brother’s Keeper," initiative because of the snowstorm. A new date has not yet been made public.

So that thing for young men of color the president quickly mentioned in one line during his State of the Union speech? It’s almost here. This Thursday, Pres. Obama plans to announce, "My Brother’s Keeper." The Washington Post describes it as a national initiative that will bring foundations and companies together, "to test a range of strategies," to support young men of color. The new initiative will be accompanied by, "a more vigorous evaluation of what policies work best."

Look for more details, including cost and scope, on Thursday. In the run-up to that announcement, a Chicago program, Becoming a Man, is being promoted as a White House-approved model intervention program. 

It is unusual, notes the WP, for this president to focus attention on a relatively narrow demographic group.