Introduction from Marcus Littles
This issue of the MMFG e-newsletter
spotlights different ways in which MM work is growing the energy needed
to MOBILIZE. One article lifts up efforts to mobilize policymakers to
partner in creating policies that improve the life outcomes of
marginalized males. Another feature profiles the mobilizing of “heavy
lifters,” introducing us to two new grantmakers whose job descriptions
specify an investment in black males. This issue also spotlights the
Kellogg Foundation’s efforts to mobilize organizations and leaders
towards a movement of positive change for boys and men of color.
Thanks for your commitment!
Marcus J. Littles
Chief Executive
Frontline Solutions
Marginalized Males Funders Community Gains Two New Grantmakers
by Ryan Bowers
The Open Society Institute and the Twenty-First Century Foundation each brought on new staff this month to support their institutions’ marginalized males grantmaking portfolios.
Rashid Kwame Shabazz joined the the US 
Programs team of the Open Society Institute (OSI) on March 23rd as its
Program Officer for the Campaign
for Black Male Achievement. He brings to OSI a wealth of experience
in community organizing and communications. He previously worked with
Fenton Communications and was an OSI-funded Social Justice Fellow at
New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He is
currently finalizing the strategic blueprint and theory of change that
will set the path for
OSI’s
campaign over the
next three years.
Also in the area of marginalized males grantmaking, the 21st Century Foundation hired Shawn Mooring as the newest member of its Black Men and Boys Initiative. Mooring has over 10 years’ experience in grantmaking, public policy, and nonprofit capacity building. His resume includes work with OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, Public/Private Ventures, the Ford Foundation, and, most recently, the Philadelphia Foundation.
Please join the Marginalized Males Funders Group in welcoming these two talented and personally committed additions to this growing movement.
Back to Top‘Building
Winning Strategies’
Promotes Career Opportunities Through Policy Change
By Katerina Rojas
Policymakers from the DC area and around the country met Friday, March 13 on Capitol Hill for the forum, “Building Winning Strategies for Success,” which promoted public policy changes to improve the career success of young African American males. It was one of a series of Working for Change monthly policy briefings that seek consensus for economic mobility agendas for low-wage workers.
Dire career prospects for young African American males have led to alarming social trends, said Helen Mitchell, the Director of Strategic Planning and Policy in the Office of Representative Danny Davis of Illinois, in addressing the forum. The causes she cited included substandard school systems, poor job training, high incarceration rates, inadequate welfare policies, insufficient access to healthcare, and the resulting breakdown of the African American family unit.
Mitchell believes Washington policymakers need to approve two key pieces of legislation to create more career opportunities. One is the Second Chance Act, which would provide counseling, job training, drug treatment, and other transitional assistance to African American males just out of prison. The other, the HR 3395 Responsible Fatherhood and Health Families Act, would offer funding for African American fathers searching for employment to support their families.
Collaboration between the
public and private sectors is also vital to creating career
opportunities for African American males, said Adrienne Harris,
an associate at the Sullivan and Cromwell law firm in New York, who
addressed the forum after Mitchell. Her law firm’s Pipeline
Crisis/Winning Strategies Initiative brought together over 400
organizations to plan and implement strategies that benefit African
American males. One very direct way to create opportunities, she said,
was simply for law firms to make a conscious effort to provide job
opportunities for African American males, particularly by employing
those whose criminal records have hampered job prospects.
Kellogg
Unveils New Commitment to Boys and Men of Color
by By Marcus Littles
On March 20th in Washington DC, the staff and board of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation convened nearly 100 community leaders, academicians, activists, and organizational leaders for the event, “Strengthening the Ties: Promoting the Success of Boys and Men of Color.” Panelists articulated key findings and opportunities in work related to improving life outcomes for America’s boys and men of color and examined the best means of support and leverage for work going forward.
The event was also a platform for Kellogg to present its newly conceived programmatic interest that allocates philanthropic dollars to achieve racial equity in the United States. Kellogg identified the goal of improving life outcomes for boys and men of color as a key and necessary component of achieving racial equity.
Panels featured an array of
field leaders who shared strategies for improving lives of younger and
older males of color. Kellogg executives shared key elements of the
program model and how its various approaches create change.
Additionally, the event designated space for small group discussions,
networking, and group strategic visioning sessions around issues of
employment, education, culture, media, and health.
Following up on the event,
Kellogg Vice President for Programs, Dr. Gail Christopher, voiced a
commitment to establishing a website that would offer an on-line
community or network to support work on ideas expressed at the event.
The website would also provide a discussion board and the capability
for participants of the meeting and others in the field to post
comments, reports, and other important information.
In
Brief
May 3 from
7:00-8:45 at
Morehouse College, The Association of Black Foundation Executives
(ABFE) is
hosting the event, “Update
on
Philanthropic Efforts to Improve the Lives of Black Men and Boys and
Special
Screening of ‘Bring
Your A
Game,’” a documentary filmed
by director, Mario Van Peebles, for the 21st Century Foundation
that
sets the tone for a national conversation on the plight of black men
and boys (with
a chance for attendees to obtain a free screening copy of the film).
The Coalition of
Schools
Educating Boys of Color (COSEBOC) will host the “Third Annual Gathering of
Leaders: The Affirmative Development of Boys and Young Men of Color,”
a conference designed to inform and inspire a call to action to
educators and
communities to address the educational challenges of male students of
color.
The event will take place from April 30-May 2 at Dillard University in
New
Orleans, LA.
A recent study
from
Northeastern University revealed that the gender or ethnic group
suffering the
greatest job losses during the current recession is black men,
particularly
those working in blue-collar professions, as reported by the Minnesota
Spokesman-Recorder article, “Can Black Men Survive Falling US
Economy?”
Read
the full story here.
Op Ed details young black
male employment crisis by laying out a
plan
for state policymakers to use the federal stimulus to create jobs,
particularly for the 48% of black youths aged 20-24 who are out of
work. Read
the op ed.
New
Resources:
Visit the Resources page for details on our featured websites, reports, and articles
Report: The Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children
Report: Health and Well-Being of Children of Color Harmed by Geographic Disparities
Report: Incarceration Reinforces Oppressive Racial Policy
Article: Explaining Drop Out Rates for Native Males
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