Foundations Back White House Effort to Aid Minority Men

President Obama will announce a major push Thursday to improve the lives of young men of color, enlisting foundations and businesses to develop strategies to keep minority males in school and out of the criminal-justice system, The Washington Post writes.

The “My Brother’s Keeper” project follows the president’s pledge in his State of the Union speech to launch an effort to assist a demographic disproportionately represented in poverty and prison numbers. The project aims “to make sure that every young man of color who is willing to work hard and lift himself up has an opportunity to get ahead and reach his full potential,” a White House official told the Post.

Young men from Becoming a Man, a Chicago-based youth program Mr. Obama visited twice last year, will be among those taking part in Thursday’s event.

Read a Chronicle of Philanthropy article on foundations collaborating on programs for young black and Hispanic men.