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Contact:
Kathy Reincke
269-969-2148
Feb. 27, 2014
W.K.
Kellogg Foundation applauds President Obama's young men of color
initiative; joint effort with ten leading foundations will address
barriers to their success
La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO, issued the following statement of support
We applaud President
Obama for elevating the obstacles faced by young men and boys of color
to a national priority. Boys and men of color must overcome barriers
that are rooted in historic patterns of racial bias, segregation and
poverty, from stop-and-frisk policies and street sweeps by police in New
York, Chicago and elsewhere, to media portrayals that too often
stereotype and criminalize, and overexposure to weapons, illegal drugs
and alcohol. Such patterns and obstacles are deeply embedded in
America's education, juvenile justice, foster care, criminal justice and
healthcare systems - resulting in higher unemployment,
overrepresentation in prisons, poorer health and far fewer opportunities
for these young men and boys to succeed.
For more than 20 years,
the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has funded initiatives to improve the
plight of young men and boys of color. Eight years ago, a group of
public officials, scholars and community leaders known as the Dellums
Commission identified public policies around the country that curtailed
opportunities, and recommended comprehensive remedies. Today, our work
continues in efforts like the Youth Empowerment Project's New Orleans
Providing Literacy to All Youth program which offers GED and basic
literacy instruction. In Chicago's North Lawndale community, where
unemployment hovers around 27 percent, the North Lawndale Employment
Network created Sweet Beginnings, a unique transitional jobs program
that trains formerly incarcerated individuals to harvest honey from bees
at local apiaries, and uses the honey to make all-natural skin care
products. The recidivism rate for Sweet Beginnings employees is below
four percent, compared to the national average of 65 percent.
Supporting grantees that
assist males of color is a key component of America Healing, our
extensive racial healing and racial equity effort. No demographic bears
the burdens of inequity more intensely than these young men and boys.
Many believe America has moved beyond race, but sobering and persistent
economic, health and educational disparities present a different reality
in communities of color. WKKF is committed to helping families and
communities heal old wounds, and change hearts, minds and deeply held
and often-unconscious biases that cause the structural inequities
holding back young men of color and others in our society.
We hope to launch new
coalitions, partnerships and allegiances that will serve as a blueprint
for addressing the social challenges that we must overcome so our
nation's continuous journey toward healing can move forward. We urge
that the unprecedented initiative announced by President Obama build a
broad commitment from all Americans to find strength and unity in our
differences. Our collective futures are at stake.
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg
Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation
by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg is among the largest
philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief
that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works
with communities to help break the cycle of poverty by removing
barriers based on race or income that hold back children, so they can
realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation
is based in Battle Creek, Mich., and works throughout the United States
and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis
is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of
poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF
priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and
New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti.
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