Yonkers Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Edwin Quezada recently spoke with former President Barack Obama about the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. Quezada joined journalist Jonathan Capehart, students and the former President, who is on a book tour promoting his presidential memoir, “A Promised Land,” for a discussion on MSNBC, hosted by Jonathan Carehard.
Quezada praised President Obama for creating the MBK program, which continues to see successes in Yonkers, with more than 1,000 students participating in local MBK programs and events. Quezada spoke about a peace rally that MBK students and elected officials participated in Yonkers in June. “this is what the President does with his book, telling us all that MBK is an opp to ensuyre that young people realize that they have a palce in our socieity, through protest or getting an education.”
“My Brother’s Keeper is a movement, and an opportunity, to affect the life experiences of those that have been left behind. On behalf of the students who have intentionally been left behind, MBK offers them support and care for them, to help them find a place in our society,” said Quezada.
President Obama, appreciated Quezada’s comments, saying that MBK “has exceeded my expectations. We had to go beyond government to deal with the challenges affecting young men of color. We marshalled partnerships in a place like Yonkers with businesses and community organizations, finding violence intervention and mentorship programs, to encourage people to set their sites higher.”
“You now have, as the Superintendent said, a movement where the need always exceed the number of programs we have. Many boys would benefit with a mentor and a helping hand, and that’s all of us need to rise,” said Obama.
Quezada continued, pointing to how MBK has also helped the YPS improve graudation rates. “Whether in the classroom or protesting, Yonkers students know that “a promised land is possible, and it’s only about the adults realizing that we need to set the conditions for them to be successful. If we do that, then we guarantee success will occur. Let’s not write them off in the 10th grade if they (are) not on the right path. Let’s instead align them to individuals, to businesses to friends that are willing to provide the needed social capital for them to be successful.”
After the event, Quezada tweeted, “There are many little @BarackObamas in@YonkersSchools. The Mayor, Dr. Bostic & I lead the MBK movement to help them create real social capital, align with mentors, friends, businesses so they can be successful. “
“A Promised Land” has already sold more than 1 million copies and is on trac to be the best-selling presidential memoir in modern history. Obama said that this book reviews only the first years of his presidency, and does not include the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, which led to the Black Lives Matter social justice movement and the MBK initiative.
In the YPS, all eight high schools have MBK Chapters, and many of those chapters have 7th and 8th graders participating.
My Brother’s Keeper Alliance seeks to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color by igniting efforts on national and local levels, inspiring collaboration among a vast and dedicated ecosystem of players working across multiple dimensions to create inclusive, lasting change
The City of Yonkers, New York accepted President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge on September 21, 2016. This national initiative challenges cities like Yonkers to unite in addressing the enduring opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. The goal: to ensure that all young people can reach their full potential. Since then, Yonkers public high schools have been creating dynamic and well-attended MBK programs including cross-grade tutoring, STEM workshops, job fairs, and a clothing donation closet where students can suit up for job interviews.
For more information, visit
http://www.yonkerspublicschools.org/mbk
