Race Baiting Al Sharpton Headlines Another White House Meeting With President Obama – “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative… | The Last Refuge

WHITE HOUSE – Top White House officials had an hour-long meeting with a group of scholars and activists calling for the inclusion of girls of color in President Obama’s signature racial justice program known as My Brother’s Keeper.

The meeting included the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has championed MBK, and top activists and academics who signed a letter criticizing the initiative for focusing on boys and young men of color without a corollary for girls of color.

Sharpton, reached via e-mail, described the meeting as “constructive.”

A White House official sent She The People this readout from the meeting:

Today, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and Broderick Johnson met with a group of stakeholders to discuss how they could work more closely with the White House Council on Women and Girls (CWG) to increase opportunities for girls and young women of color. During the meeting, the officials walked through the Administration’s accomplishments on issues critical to women and girls of color. The group also discussed ways in which stakeholders could become more engaged with the CWG and My Brother’s Keeper. At the conclusion of the meeting, everyone agreed to continue the productive discussion and to work together to provide opportunity for all young people of color.

Announced in February, MBK is a $200 million dollar public-private partnership, that will direct resources and attention to boys of color, who statistically have high incarceration and drop-out rates.  The White House released a 60-page task force detailing some of the barriers and difficulties young men of color often face. Obama first announced his intention to address the social problems of young men of color in the wake of the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case, which sparked anger among many, particularly African Americans.  (read more)