New Brunswick Joins Former President Obama's My Brother's Keeper Program

The city has become New Jersey's second municipality to be certified under the Model Communities Initiative of My Brother's Keeper—a program launched by former President Barack Obama.

New Brunswick, as well as Franklin in Somerset County, were officially certified during ceremonies in Chicago last month.

They join Newark as the only municipalities in the state and three of only 100 or so from across the United States to join the program, which aims to boost young men of color's educational and employment opportunities.

My Brother's Keeper is focused on six milestones for young men of color, ranging from giving them a healthy start to their academic careers and making sure they're reading at grade level by age 8, to creating jobs that allow them to support themselves and their families.

Keith Jones II, director of the city's Department of Human and Community Services, said New Brunswick has chosen to focus on postsecondary education and employment, and the efforts will extend throughout Middlesex County.

The city's alignment with My Brother's Keeper comes as the unemployment rate for Black people and African Americans in the United States has surged over the past four months, from 6 to 7.5 percent, according to a New York Times report this week.

During the same time, the rate for White people ticked down slightly to 3.7%, according to the report.

The city will address this milestone by tapping existing programs such as the city's Recreation Department and Fatherhood Council, as well as seeking partnerships with the New Brunswick School District, Rutgers, the county's Magnet Schools, and others. Other efforts could be stand-alone initiatives.

The city could also seek to link My Brother's Keeper with its partners in development, health care, and other sectors that could provide employment opportunities.

Jones said Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was organized 38 years before the last slaves in New Jersey were freed in 1865, will serve as the backbone of My Brother's Keeper in New Brunswick.

"Working with all these avenues, we can provide, as well as we should be providing, opportunities for young men of color," Jones said. "But it's not just a matter of a young man; you need a job. Pull your pants up and go get a job. It's how do we provide these opportunities? How do we change the culture and provide these employment opportunities in ways that we're meeting them where they are?"

Utilizing the training he received through My Brother's Keeper, Jones said one of the goals will be to answer this question: What is barring them from getting those jobs?

To discover whether transportation, health issues, criminal records, or other issues are factors, Jones will enlist Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy to do some data collection concerning young men of color and employment opportunities from across Middlesex County.

He said that information would then give a clearer picture of how some of the city's partners could help.

"It starts to talk to the partners, it starts to talk to the resources, saying, 'Hey, this is where there are gaps,'" Jones said. "It starts to talk to, 'How do we shift the culture to fill in?'

"We can look at any particular job site or campus or school, and you can see the visual," he added. "Those things are not hard to find. It's how do we change the culture of being able to provide better opportunities so they can see themselves in that particular space? How many teachers do young men of color see who look like them? In government, how many men of color do they see who look like them? And in any of these workspaces, there is no true reflection of them."

Obama launched My Brother's Keeper in 2014, after a six-person jury found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

At the time, Obama said there was a "need to bolster and reinforce our young men, and give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them."

Story By: Chuck O'Donnell
Photo By: TAPinto New Brunswick