Aug 01, 2020

Center for Urban Families;

In Spring 2020, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Center for Urban Families hosted a two-part roundtable with ten youth-serving organizations that conduct outreach and provide services, including job training, parenting, life skills and mental health support to young fathers. Participating organizations hail from both urban and rural communities, and range from mature, high-scale and well-known to small-scale and small-budget. Most are led by men of color and some are led by women of color. This brief illustrates the creative and exciting approaches the practitioners developed to serve young fathers of color. It also highlights opportunities to strengthen and improve services to young men who are parenting. These are best practices identified by the organizations who are actively involved in this work on a daily basis—and where they see opportunities to improve on this essential work.

Feb 27, 2020

Urban Institute;

The past decade has brought significant developments in efforts to close equity gaps for young men of color—but additional progress must be made. This report tracks 10 years of progress on increasing economic opportunity for young men of color. It highlights the voices of young men and lifts up seven new and promising approaches: changing narratives, intervening early, empowering young men of color to lead, promoting mental health and well-being, preparing for higher education and careers, building wealth, tailoring interventions to the local context. It also presents recent federal, state, and local policy reforms that show promise for increasing economic opportunity by dismantling structural barriers faced by young men of color. Written for practitioners, policymakers, philanthropy, and advocates, the report concludes with opportunities for action for all audiences.

Feb 01, 2020

Campaign for Black Male Achievement;

CBMA's Health and Healing Strategies builds strategic engagement of educators, parents/ families, and community members who have various levels of direct engagement with African American male youth - those who make up the "village" or what Dr. Martin Luther King referred to as the "beloved community" who guide and shape the lives of Black boys. Recognizing that these individuals have an impactful role in the lives of youth, BMA HHS focuses on increasing knowledge and skillsets around strategies for improved physical and emotional health and overall wellness for this "beloved community." By building the capacity of those with daily direct interaction with Black men and boys, BMA HHS increases the likeliness that positive and healthy behaviors will be modeled with the young men, providing opportunities for them to build knowledge and tools toward health and healing as well. The approach toward this engagement of the "beloved community" is centered around four targeted areas:1. Provide caregivers of children with healingcentered engagement strategies.2. Recruit and train Black males to facilitate Wellness Mentoring Circles aimed at improving schooling and youth development outcomes of Black boys and young men of color.3. Implement culturally responsive teacher training and professional development designed to improve classroom management and reduce stress for school personnel and caregivers.4. Provide resources for strategic communication toward asset-based narrative change to guide members on how to increase healthy and healing lifestyles for themselves and the young men they serve.

Nov 01, 2019

Forward Promise;

Dehumanization is the cause of generations of historical trauma. The cycle begins with negative narratives that label people of color—particularly boys and young men—violent, criminal, and animalistic. To combat the perceived threat, dangerous actions are taken by the majority culture and systems which further dehumanize BYMOC. As a result, BYMOC and their villages often hold harmful internal feelings of unworthiness taught by their oppressors. It is not uncommon for them to engage in various forms of self-harm or to harm others. These destructive external reactions are not explained as normal responses to trauma. Stories of their negative reactions become justification for more negative narratives and the cycle begins again

Oct 01, 2019

Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis;

The My Brother's Keeper (MBK) Challenge developed by President Obama supports communities that promote civic initiatives designed to improve the educational and economic opportunities specifically for young men of color. In Oakland, California, the MBK educational initiative features the African American Male Achievement (AAMA) program. The AAMA focuses on regularly scheduled classes exclusively for Black, male students and taught by Black, male teachers who focus on social-emotional training, African-American history, culturally relevant pedagogy, and academic supports. In this study, we present quasi-experimental evidence on the dropout effects of the AAMA by leveraging its staggered scale-up across high schools in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). We find that AAMA availability led to a significant reduction in the number of Black males who dropped out as well as smaller reductions among Black females, particularly in 9th grade.

Jul 01, 2019

NNSTOY; University of Phoenix;

Achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce within P-12 education is critical to ensure that students receive a robust, quality educational experience. However, overcoming the shortage of educators of color has been a major dilemma for our nation's schools for decades. And, despite students of color comprising over 50% of current classroom populations and the United States Census Bureau's prediction that people of color will become the "majority-minority" in the overall United States population by 2043, these trends fail to correlate with representations of educators of color in P-12 education, especially for new cohorts of Black male teachers. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), male educators comprise only 23% of the public school workforce and, more troubling, Black male teachers represent less than 2% of the total teacher population.

May 01, 2019

Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color;

Completion of higher education is of particular value to men of color. Through this achievement, they unlock their own potential, improve their career options and lifetime earnings, and enable themselves to best contribute to their families and communities. Beyond individual benefits, completing a postsecondary education is important to the overall prosperity and vitality of our nation, better enabling communities to create, innovate, sustain, and persevere. The skills and experiences acquired through the completion of a higher education degree or credential help to strengthen the nation's labor force and economic systems and contribute to every part of our national fabric. Moreover, children whose parents hold postsecondary degrees have better health outcomes and educational advantages. Often, they maintain or improve upon the economic status of their parents. So, it stands to reason that an investment in increasing the number of boys and men of color who complete higher education is an investment in our future collective and societal well-being.

Apr 01, 2019

California Community Foundation;

This report tells the story of BLOOM, its impact, and the lessons we learned along the way. Through the initiative, Brotherhood Crusade (BHC) and Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) developed programs that tap into the potential of young Black males through developmental relationships with male mentors along with positive peer relationships and accountability with other young Black men. Since its launch, BLOOM has impacted the lives of nearly 800 young Black men in South L.A. Over the past six years, California Community Foundation's (CCF) commitment of $500,000 per year, totaling $3.5 million, leveraged $3.3 million from other foundations, as well as contributions from individual donors, with an additional $3.2 million pledged over the next five years.

Mar 14, 2019

Department of Public Health, City of Philadelphia;

This report uses data from various sources to examine  the impact of social and economic factors on health outcomes for black men and boys living in Philadelphia.

Mar 01, 2019

New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU);

This report examines the stop-and-frisk program during the first four years of the de Basio Administration. 

Jan 01, 2019

ThriveChicago;

This report summarizes findings from real conversations with boys and young men of color in Chicago as well as results from convenings with community-based organizations. The findings inform an Action Plan that includes opportunities for individual Chicagoans, community-based organizations, and institutions to act around the needs of boys and young men of color in the city. 

Jan 01, 2019

Advocates for Children of New Jersey; Kids Count;

This data book assesses the well-being of children in Newark, New Jersey and provides the latest statistics and trend data in areas such as demographics, family economic security, food insecurity, child health, child protection, childcare, education, and teens. It also features a special section on young men of color in Newark in an attempt to identify how they respond to opportunities and challenges and understand the causes and implications of systematic inequality.