Tuesday, June 10, 7:00pm
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Wheeler Auditorium
400 Cathedral Street, Baltimore

“By almost every measure, the group that is facing some of the most severe challenges in the 21st century, in this country, are boys and young men of color.” –President Obama

Join us in a discussion about President Obama’s recently launched My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative created to advance the achievement of boys and young men of color. Despite their socio-economic backgrounds, young men of color are disproportionately more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system and to be victims of violent crime. They are also more likely to be expelled and suspended from school and disconnected from the labor force.  With us will be Joe Jones, CEO of the Center for Urban Families, who will discuss the innovations that are already beginning to create meaningful change in Baltimore, and Open Society Foundations’ Senior Advisor for Special Projects Damon Hewitt, who will share information on what is occurring across the country.

Damon Hewitt was a director at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund where he worked on public outreach for education equality issues such as school integration, fiscal equity, affirmative action, and school discipline. He has been directly involved in the communications between the White House and the Foundations’ collaboration for My Brother’s Keeper.

Joe Jones is a national leader in workforce development, fatherhood and family services programming, and, through his professional and civic involvement, influences policy direction nationwide.

This event is free and open to the public.

This event is part of OSI-Baltimore’s Talking About Race series, co-sponsored by the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which continues to explore the many different facets of this complex subject.