Founded in February 2014 by President Barack Obama, the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative (MBK) was launched to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color. Over 250 communities in all 50 states have begun implementing innovative approaches to open doors, and build many ladders of opportunity for boys and young men of color.
On Monday, Nov. 14, The City of Detroit hosted the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Job & Opportunity Summit at the COBO center. Nearly 1100 young men and women of color [between the ages of 18 and 29] engaged with 42 major companies for on-the-spot hiring and career exploration activities, resulting in over 350 job offers to Detroit youth.
It was an ever-expanding list of employer partners that provided on-the-spot job offers and/or career support and exploration activities at the summit which included: Applebee’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, City of Detroit-Humans Rights Department, COBO, Detroit School for Digital Technology, Detroit Water and Sewage Dept., Starbucks, Lyft, FedEx, Macy’s, Walgreens, Sprint, Barton Malow, Red Lobster, Little Caesars, Uber, CVS Health, Henry Ford Health System, J&G Pallets, Meijer, Lions, Palace Sports & Entertainment, UPS, Shinola, and many more.
I was fortunate enough to land a job with Starbucks Corporation, after also interviewing with Walgreens and Palace Sports. The opportunity was very enlightening and I gained a great deal of knowledge about major corporations, interviewing and network skills; and I also had a great interview with Roop Raj from FOX 2 News.
Obama said during the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Launch Event on May 5, 2015, “This will remain a mission for me and for Michelle not just for the rest of my presidency, but for the rest of my life.” Making sure that young men of color likelihood of enrolling college and increase opportunity for young men of color.
Following the Job & Opportunity Summit, Detroit Youth could enjoy breakfast with Mayor Mike Duggan, Dan Gilbert (owner of Quicken Loans), Tonya Allen, and Blair Taylor CEO of MBKA.
Mayor Duggan stated in the press conference that followed, “This economic comeback isn’t going to mean a thing if the people they've stayed here all these years are left behind … we’ve had 8,000 young people hired this summer.
The city of Detroit’s Director of Youth Services, Ricardo Marable, made a commitment to come to Cass Tech in February to sign students up for the Grow Detroit’s Young Talent summer employment (email for more info at: marbler@detroitmi.gov).
Overall, I believe that Detroit Youth will be able to find success in obtaining summer employment if they stay on top of the upcoming events sponsored by the MBK Alliance and Grow Detroit’s Young Talent as they will have the opportunity to gain employment.
For more information about the Summit go to http://www.mbkalliance.org/
