My Brother's Keeper Alliance

A young man smiles at the camera. The young man has a medium deep skin tone and closely cut dark hair. He is wearing a black jacket and a black t-shirt underneath. On the t-shirt are the words that are obscured from the camera.

Mission & History

We believe communities are the unit of change to realize improved life outcomes for boys and young men of color. Research shows that the collective work of community leaders, members, and public and private agencies pursuing the same goals for boys and young men of color can lead to sustainable, place-based change.

Our History

President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper program in February 2014, in response to the death of Trayvon Martin. The program sought to address the persistent opportunity gaps boys and young men of color face and to ensure all young people can reach their full potential.

We believe communities are the unit of change to realize improved life outcomes for boys and young men of color. Research shows that the collective work of community leaders, members, and public and private agencies pursuing the same goals for boys and young men of color can lead to sustainable, place-based change.

My Brother’s Keeper Alliance at the Obama Foundation

In 2018, 19 organizations across 10 states and Puerto Rico were chosen as national models to expand evidence-based initiatives to reduce youth violence, grow effective mentorship programs, and measurably improve the lives of boys and young men of color. The MBK Alliance team is working with these Impact and Seed communities to support the development of long-term strategic plans that chart life outcomes changes for boys and young men of color across the six milestones.

The Alliance is working with partners to offer tools, resources, and convening opportunities designed to support the growing network of nearly 250 MBK Communities that participated in the My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge.

Our goal is to bolster the network of MBK Communities and all those that share our mission while promoting action, strengthening interventions, and sharing practices and policies that work.

Our approach

MBK Alliance works to unleash the power of communities working together to solve problems for boys and young men of color, at a level to improve real life outcomes. We believe communities are the unit of change to realize improved life outcomes for boys and young men of color. Research shows that collective work of community leaders, members, and public and private agencies pursuing the same goals for boys and young men of color can lead to sustainable, place-based change.

We believe that cross-sector collaborative action is central to how communities will achieve improved outcomes for boys and young men of color.

  • Local leaders

    Local leaders champion efforts across departments to shift policies and improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.

  • Nonprofits

    Nonprofits are healthy and increasing scale of high-quality service offerings directed towards boys and young men of color from cradle to career.

  • Corporations

    Corporations commit resources to support boys and young men of color and create targeted hiring and retention strategies

  • Philanthropy 

    Philanthropy commits sustained financial resources to support boys and young men of color.

  • Residents

    Residents (e.g., YOUTH) are engaged and commit time and their voices to shape priorities and initiatives.

Support boys and young men of color

Help unleash the power of communities working together by giving to the Obama Foundation today.

Donate to the Barack Obama Foundation. The Barack Obama Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN 46-4950751).

A graphic for My Brother's Keeper. The background of the graphic is orange and says the words, "A Path to Success." The words are connected by white lines symbolizing the path mentioned.

6 Key Milestones to Success

The MBK Equity Framework will help you uncover the disparate outcomes for boys and young men of color in your community.

Learn more

Our challenges

Our country's persistent social inequities are widespread, rooted in structural and institutional racism, and prevent our boys and young men of color from reaching their full potential.

How we do it

My Brother’s Keeper Alliance at the Obama Foundation

A Black boy with a deep skin tone wears a sweatshirt and holds onto the rim of a basketball net, looking upward. The sky behind is a deep blue.
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Freedom Summer 2023

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A picture of a teenage boy smiling. He has a dark skin tone and is wearing a light blue durag. On top he is wearing a dark blue hoodie with the initials SSJC and a patch on the right arm. He is standing outside and behind him is a wall with a mural on it.
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Mbka: Eight years of impact

The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance began as a call to action for the nation to address the persistent opportunity gaps boys and young men of color face and to ensure all young people can reach their full potential.

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Two men are standing in an auditorium. One of the men is helping the other fix his tie. The first man who is helping fix the tie has a light deep skin tone and is wearing glasses, a yellow beanie hat, and a dark sweater. The second man, who is getting his tie fixed, is younger, has a dark deep skin complexion, short twisted dred locks, and a goatie. He is wearing a grey sweater, has a gray backpack on his back, and is looking down at the tie as it is being tied.
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Six reflections on Black mental health and self-care

Here at the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, we support communities of color across the United States and Puerto Rico that are taking action to create systemic solutions to the most pressing issues facing boys and young men of color.

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A young man with a deep skin tone wearing a gray hoodie and black jacket smiles toward the camera. There are other men and young men around him with deep skin tones. We see the sky slightly above their heads.

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