MISSION

The idea for this initiative emerged from a series of discussions among national organizations, philanthropists, community-based organizations, and concerned individuals who noted that a Black boy born in 2007 will be 18 years old in 2025 and there is a need for a change in paradigm for both our leadership and the people. Beginning in October 2005 with a National Conversation on Black Men and Boys co-convened by The Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF), the NAACP Legal Education and Defense Fund, Public/Private Ventures, and the National Urban League, brought together more than 40 national and local leaders including adults and young people to assess the many challenges facing this group. At a follow-up meeting hosted by the Ford Foundation in July 2006, more than 120 participants representing 22 co-sponsoring organizations gathered to move the process forward. Attendees underscored their collective commitment to improve conditions for the generation of Black boys currently being raised and for the adults who support them.

RESOURCES