November 2008
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Making a Difference with Media Literacy
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 In Los Angeles Unified School District, only 48% of African American and Latino students who enter high school in the 9th grade, complete 12th grade four years later (CRP, 2004). The nationwide public educational system as we know it currently operates using an outdated framework (BMGF, 2007) and has failed to properly engage and prepare minority youth (CRP, 2005), specifically Black male youth, to further their academic goals, develop as morally responsible citizens and to successfully transition, socially and economically, into the community and the workforce of the 21st Century.
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Black Youth to Organize After the Election
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"This is an exciting year for Black Youth Vote!," says Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP), the parent organization for Black Youth Vote. Campbell continues, "They worked hard to register new voters, educate them on the issues and their rights at the polls, and make sure they turn out in record numbers. They did a phenomenal job this year."
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Bring Your A Game
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 To catalyze a national conversation on the plight of Black men and boys, The Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) has partnered with actor–director Mario Van Peebles to create BRING YOUR A-GAME — a documentary film that, in Van Peebles’ words, “sheds light on the resilience and influence of Black males.” BRING YOUR A-GAME is a groundbreaking documentary film that will use screenings and accompanying community discussions as a catalyst to transform the lives of urban youth.
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Foster Care Advocate Zaid Gayle Chosen to Receive National Award for Improving Local Health Conditions
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 Zaid Gayle had a dream ten years ago when he launched Peace4Kids, a grassroots effort aimed at creating “community as family” for foster and at-risk youth in South Los Angeles. After touching the lives of over 1,500 youth and growing Peace4Kids into a thriving non-profit, Mr. Gayle has been recognized on the national stage.
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I am a King: A Rite of Passage to Manhood
Sequan Born Spigner |
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 When I walk out of my house each day I cannot help but feel I am in a battlefield. Missiles are flying over my head and carnivorous bullets originating from advertisements and stereotypes are harming anyone with traces of individuality. My only weapons are my words, ideas, and thirst for knowledge. I have been born not only to win the battle, but also the war. I do this while focusing on the words of Fredrick Douglass as if they were the solution to all that is wrong: “Without struggle there is no progress.” I will struggle to succeed.
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October 2008
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Barack and Curtis
Katti Gray |
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"They are uniquely different, but they do overlap, in some ways, in what they had to do to achieve success," said prizewinning Central Islip-born filmmaker Byron Hurt, whose latest project is a 10-minute short entitled "Barack and Curtis." He approached this film with a sense of detachment. It is neither pro-Obama nor pro-Jackson.
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Upward Bound: Young Men Travel and Learn
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 Over the summer, several teen members of New York's Brotherhood/SisterSol youth organization spent four weeks in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic through their International Study Program (ISP). The youth divided their time between the two countries and studied the history, culture, geography, and environment of each.
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Men Make a Difference Day
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 On this day, all fathers, male guardians, and other significant male role models will be encouraged to visit their child's or family member's classroom for as little as 20 minutes to view the daily routines, interactive instructional strategies, and the excitement of the teaching and learning process.
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Obama on Men's Health
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 Senator Barack Obama opens up in an exclusive interview in the November issue of Men's Health magazine, on newsstands October 21, 2008, about how health and fitness has driven his success in life, love and leadership.
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Get Healthy at the Barbershop
Terri Coles |
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 The Center for Minority Health has created Take a Health Professional to the People Day, which falls on September 18 this year, its seventh. The program works with ten barbershops and salons in the city, and 200 Pittsburgh health professionals have signed up to visit the shops on Take a Health Professional to the People Day to provide health screening to people in the surrounding neighborhoods.
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Ride or Die
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 So what's up with brothas on bikes? Besides the fact that it's a very cheap means of transportation, for some of the Black men I see riding, the act is also a means of survival, a source of income. And I ain't talking about a paper route.
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September 2008
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Program helps reduce drop-out rates
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A program that targets black freshman boys at high schools with the highest dropout rates is showing promising results in its first year. The first-of-its-kind program involved 4,000 at-risk Ohio students - half of them in Cleveland - at 35 high schools in 15 districts during the past school year.
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Bigger than Hip Hop: A Q & A with Kevin Powell on Leadership
Jeff Chang |
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42 year-old, former Vibe writer Kevin Powell faces off against 74 year-old, 26-year veteran Congressman Edolphus Towns for one of Brooklyn's 3 House seats in Washington D.C. It's one of the most closely watched races in the country, in no small part because of the contest's implications for generational change.
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What Obama Means to Black Men and Boys
Cheo Tyehimba Taylor |
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Despite two detailed memoirs, achieving near cult of personality status in American popular culture, and having been in the media spotlight during one of the most-visible marathon presidential primary seasons in history, folks still want to know more about the guy with the "funny name."
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Wall Street Wizards Help Black Males Improve Financial Literacy
William E. Thomason |
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The Wall Street Wizards Urban Financial Literacy Program and the Wall Street West Financial Literacy Fund is the vision and inception of money manager and author William E. Thomason. Having been on Wall Street and having worked in the world of finance and money management for many years, he sees the inequity between the world of finance and people of color.
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August 2008
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Given Half A Chance: Black Males in Public Schools are Driven to Drop Out
Schott Foundation |
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More than fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, far less than half of Black males nationwide receive a high school diploma on time. Due to unfair school policies and inequitable funding, Black males are overwhelmingly railroaded into Special Education, disproportionately suspended and expelled, and least likely to be admitted into gifted programs.
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Helping Black Males Hurdle the Achievement Gap
CAAMRSL |
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A unique summer program has taken root on the campus of the University of West Georgia which inspires black males prepare for college life.
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The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life
Kevin Powell |
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A ground-breaking life survival guide for Black boys and men who aim to be leaders and mentors in their communities, families, and careers.
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July 2008
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New Report Reveals Gaps in NYC School System
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The Youth Researchers For A New Education System (YRNES) is a “diverse group of youth from all over New York City (NYC) who have come together for a common goal: to be instruments of change in the NYC public school system.”
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The CDC's Kevin Fenton on HIV Empowerment
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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, African-Americans account for roughly more than 1 million people living with HIV -- half of all U.S. cases -- while only representing 13 percent of the general population. Dr. Kevin Fenton is director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. Here's what he has to say about what we can do to live healthier lives in the age of HIV/AIDS.
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The Murder of Black Women
Marlon LeTerrance |
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Have a seat sister; this may take a while. Don't be afraid. The two pistols you see smoking in my hands are harmless now. Both clips are empty, much like a Larry Elders speech. And even though I was aiming at the System when I first unloaded shots into the air, I see now that I missed the target. The System remains intact while you sit wounded and battle-weary from decades of bullets being lodged deep into your heart and soul.
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June 2008
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2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys to Convene in Philadelphia
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 The Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC) will host the 2025 Campaign for Black Men and Boys General Meeting on Friday, June 27, 2008 in the City of Brotherly Love. This all-day event will include an update on campaign activities, a highlight of Black Men and Boys work in Philadelphia, a dialogue among local workers from across the country engaged in Black men and boys work, and more.
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BMB Steering Committee Meets in New Orleans
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 April 26-27, the 2025 Steering Committee took its meeting to the Big Easy, site of current and growing funding support of the Twenty-First Century Foundation. The 2-day meeting included Campaign networking with those engaging in Black men and boys locally, and enjoyment of all that is New Orleans.
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Brooklyn Black Fatherhood Event Draws High Praise
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 On June 2, 2008, a standing-room-only audience filled the sanctuary at Brown Memorial Church in Brooklyn to learn what fatherhood means to Black men of the Hip Hop Generation. What they discovered was a soul-stirring and inspirational safe space where Black men stood up and testified about their resolved fatherhood "issues."
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The Sean Bell Tragedy
Kevin Powell |
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 I am sick to my stomach and I really do not know what to say right this second. My cell
and office phones have been blowing up all day, and people have been emailing me
nonstop, to let me know that Detectives Michael Oliver, Gescard Isnora, and Marc
Cooper, the three New York City police officers accused of shooting 50 times and
murdering Sean Bell, were found not guilty on all counts.
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