Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Obama Takes Care of His Own

"Obama announces expansion of school equality program" Washington Post   July 22, 2014

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Monday revealed an additional $100 million in pledges of funding for his racial justice initiative, My Brother’s Keeper, a public-private program that focuses on the challenges faced by young men of color.

In all, the program has attracted $300 million in funding for an effort that the president has said will continue long after he has left the White House and will make up much of his post-presidential work.

Flanked by NBA star Chris Paul, who introduced Obama, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and other prominent basketball players, the president recalled his own struggles growing up, saying that the only difference between him and other young men of color is that he lived in a more forgiving environment.

The efforts sprang from the widespread frustration expressed by many African-Americans after George Zimmerman was acquitted last year in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and build on 30 years of public discourse and community programming aimed at young men of color.

Related: NBC Spliced Zimmerman Phone Call to Police

They sent Al Sharpton down there?

Among the other efforts are $1.5 million by the College Board to ensure that students of color enroll in at least one advanced-placement class before they graduate. The Chicago-based ‘‘Becoming a Man,’’ program will benefit from $10 million and expand to additional cities, while the Emerson Collective will pitch in $50 million for a competition for innovative approaches to creating the next generation of high schools.

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