How ironic that on the same day Mayor de Blasio was closing doors of opportunity to hundreds of African-American kids in New York, in Washington President Obama was championing a new initiative to help young men of color claim their part of the American Dream.
It’s called “My Brother’s Keeper,” and it starts from the reality that black and Hispanic boys are disproportionately unable to read, are disproportionately unemployed and involved in crime and disproportionately come from fatherless homes. This is not a path to success.
In his remarks Thursday, the president made several telling points. First, the big-government approach won’t work: “Government can’t play the only — or even primary — role,” he said. “We can’t replace the role of the parent.”
Second, the First Dad also spoke candidly about the negative impact of not having a father around had on his own life: “I didn’t have a Dad in the house . . . I made bad choices. I got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. I didn’t always take school as seriously as I should have.”
Third, the president said there are “key moments in the life of a boy or young man of color that will, more often than not, determine whether he succeeds or falls through the cracks.” Some of these moments have to do with schools. As the president noted, a child who cannot read by third grade is four times less likely to get his diploma than a child who does.
We wish the president every success. And we urge him to bring his message here to New York — where our mayor has just shuttered three charters where young men of color do learn to read, do develop their potential and are put on a path to success.