Obama Unveils $80M Investment for Young Men of Color

US President Barack Obama unveiled plans at the Bronx, New York’s Lehman College on Monday, May 4, to inject $80 million into an initiative for young African American and Latino men. Obama said the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance he started in February, 2014, to help expand opportunities for young minority men from poor neighbourhoods, would become privatized.

Joined by Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson and leaders from the private sector, Obama echoed the “You matter” catchphrase, in reference to the lives of young black men, that emerged following incidents in Ferguson, Mo., North Charleston, S.C., and Baltimore,. “Certain communities consistently have the odds stacked against them,” Obama said. The $80 million investment from business leaders will help young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods to improve their literacy, boost graduation rates and stay away from crime, he said.

This video shows Obama’s speech. Credit: YouTube/The White House