President Obama established My Brother’s Keeper in February 2014 to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color and to ensure all youth can reach their full potential. The MBK Alliance was launched as an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) entity in 2015 to scale and sustain this critical mission.
The City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County embraced President Obama's call to action for My Brother's Keeper. In 2015, Mayor Bill Peduto, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, and community leadership created a cross-sector alliance and made a firm commitment to join the national effort by creating a more equitable and inclusive Pittsburgh. In January of 2019, Mayor Peduto created the My Brother’s Keeper Coordinator position to evolve and elevate this work. The role is a blend between the Mayor’s Office and Citiparks. The role sits in the Office of Equity and focuses on policy and programs that enhance opportunity and outcomes for black men and boys in areas such as literacy, mentoring, workforce development, and violence prevention.
Read the full My Brothers Keeper Action Plan below:
MBK PAC enhances its role as a local leader and coordinator when it connects with stakeholders, funders, partners, and policy makers. Moveover, burgeoning regional and national relationships may also attract additional investment for the initiative as a whole or for individual partner organizations.
Building on this success, MBK PAC will continually survey the landscape and determine strategic initiatives that would add unique value to the community and the lives of boys and young men of color. Strategic initiatives are large, involved, partnership-driven, and require dedicated staff and funding over a longer timeframe.
The following strategic initiatives received the highest marks during the planning process (listed in descending order of identified importance):
When the heartbeat activities and strategic initiatives are combined, they will create a consistent flow of activity that will help raise the visibility of MBK PAC, increase collaboration between partner organizations, and, most importantly, increase opportunities for boys and young men of color in the Pittsburgh region.