NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE ACHIEVEMENT AMONG BOYS AND YOUNG MEN ANNOUNCES PLANS TO FORM COALITION ON BOYS AND YOUNG MEN OF COLOR
Coalition will help guide new Minority Youth Project
Washington, DC – April 19, 2012 – The Boys Initiative, a Washington, DC based nonprofit organization, has announced plans to form a coalition of organizations in the health, education, juvenile justice and other fields to work together in defining steps that can be taken among them to address the mounting problem of underachievement among boys and young men of color.
Achievement is declining among all young males, regardless of race or ethnicity. With that said, the risk factors for underachievement are most pronounced among minority males. By 2020, the combined minority population in grades K-12 will exceed the white population. By 2045, non-whites will comprise a majority of the U. S. population. Yet today among males, only 28% of African Americans, 24% of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders and 16% of Latinos have at least an associate degree.
“This is not only a social justice issue, but also an issue of American economic security,” said Dennis J. Barbour, Co-Founder and CEO of The Boys Initiative. “Without greater investment in the success of American minority males our country is destined for economic decline. Demographic projections predict this outcome if we fail to take strong action to avert it,” said Barbour.
In 2011 the Boys Initiative launched Minority Male Youth 2050 to address this growing problem. The initiative is guided by a steering committee composed of national experts in the area of minority male achievement. Its mission is to facilitate a cooperative endeavor among organizations and stakeholders that is focused on solutions, in part through creating communities that will effect collective, meaningful change. In addition to national organizations whose work touches on the needs of minority male youth, the project, and the coalition to help guide it, will draw on the experience of the vast array of community-based efforts that have already begun work in this area.
The project has assembled a core group of national organizations from the health and education fields and is expanding its reach to include other national organizations and community efforts. Today the project launched Minority Report, a weekly update on news and other information related to minority male youth that adds to the resources found on the project’s web page.
“Our role is to facilitate discussion among those who know best about this issue,” said Barbour. “The answers can be found in the tireless work of the national organizations and community based efforts we hope to bring together.”
“There is agreement among those who toil in this field that every day lost to action is a day lost to future generations of minority males. We hope to be able to play a role in bending that curve,” said Barbour.
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The Boys Initiative was founded in 2010 by a group of researchers, community leaders, parents, teachers and other individuals who are concerned about underachievement among today’s boys and young men and who believe passionately that a national effort is needed to address it. The organization’s principal role is to serve as a hub for information exchange and action among the broad range of organizations whose work touches on boys and young men. The Initiative focuses on programs related to the advancement of boys’ health, educational attainment and preparation for adulthood as well as those related to the prevention of criminal behavior, incarceration, abuse and other risk factors.
CONTACT:
Dennis J. Barbour
202-841-7475
dbarbour@theboysinitiative.org
www.theboysinitiative.org
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