TAKING STRATEGIC ACTIONS TO IMPROVE LIFE OUTCOMES FOR BALTIMORE'S BOYS AND YOUNG MEN OF COLOR
MBK
BALTIMORE
Our Mission
We will harness the power of collaboration and trust across our sectors and apply our energy and resources to ensure that all boys and young men of color and their families in the city of Baltimore live in an environment where they can learn, reflect and grow.
Our History
In 2014, President Barack Obama’s administration launched the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, a national network of diverse stakeholders working to address disparities confronting boys and young men of color. In 2015, My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Alliance was established to scale and sustain this mission.
In 2015, the late U.S Congressman Elijah E. Cummings led Baltimore's response to President Barack Obama's call to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color, thus establishing MBK Baltimore as part of the MBK Alliance. In 2017, MBK Baltimore established a local advisory board comprised of individuals from city and state government, non-profits, academic institutions, youth advocates and youth representatives.
MBK Baltimore, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success, has spent the last year working with local stakeholders to discover and address the effects of poverty, school discipline, graduation, employment and crime on life outcomes for Baltimore's boys and young men of color.
Today, MBK Baltimore is positioned to bring alignment across many initiatives throughout the city and empower boys and men of color as facilitators of positive change within communities and systems.
MBK Baltimore is powered by the Mayor's Office of African American Male Engagement and the Mayor’s Office of Children & Family Success.
LATEST NEWS.
MBK Baltimore Releases Report Highlighting
The Expensive Cost of Youth Incarceration Compared to Alternatives That Are More Cost-Efficient and More Effective
The Board of My Brother’s Keeper Baltimore, a cross-sectional collective of public and private sector leaders committed to improving the city’s outcomes on behalf of boys and young men of color (BYMOC), has released an new report on the gross discrepancies in costs and youth outcomes when comparing the use of Maryland sponsored placement facilities versus at-home/closer to home alternatives to incarceration (ATI) for Baltimore’s juvenile justice-involved youth. The report seeks to inform the public on some of the more compelling data that ensnares young people, especially youth of color, in a continuous cycle of punishment without any clear pathway towards rehabilitation for the impacted youth and restoration for the communities our youth call their homes.
MBK Baltimore "You Matter" Conversation Series
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Over the summer MBK Baltimore, in partnership with the Mayor's Office of Children & Family Success, hosted You Matter: A Virtual Conversation Series Between Boys and Men of Color.
Throughout the series, participants and attendees had a chance to share and learn about the unadulterated
experiences of males of color living in Baltimore.
Journeying beyond the challenges, You Matter identifies actionable strategies to improve life outcomes for boys and young men of color and the City of Baltimore.
Baltimore Children's Cabinet
MBK Baltimore, as stakeholder and advocate in the work to expand the success of Baltimore's boys and young men of color, is perfectly positioned in its ally-ship to the Baltimore Children's Cabinet.
The Baltimore Children’s Cabinet convenes city and state agencies and key external partners to align the city’s collective youth-serving efforts to seven priorities:
• Increase early childhood development
• Decrease youth food insecurity
• Decrease youth homelessness
• Increase youth literacy
• Increase trauma-informed care for youth
• Increase youth diversion practices
• Break down historical barriers to success for Black boys and young men
The Challenge
Nearly two-thirds of Black boys in Baltimore enter kindergarten unprepared, while more than two-thirds of Baltimore’s known homicide victims in 2018 were Black men. From their earliest years, and on every life front after, boys and men of color face unacceptable odds rooted in systems and a national culture designed to hold Black and Brown males back. The unemployment rate for Black men in Baltimore is more than four times higher than it is for white men. Boys and men of color are our city’s most underutilized asset.
Use the link below to learn more about Baltimore's Children's Cabinet or to join the Success for Black Boys and Young Men workgroup.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Contact Us
Are you an individual or organization interested in improving the life outcomes of Baltimore's boys and young men of color? Fill out the form below to stay connected for updates and upcoming events!
ADDRESS
Mayor's Office of African American Male Engagement
Attn: James Green
4910 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, Maryland 21215
PHONE
443.388.6879
© 2020