My Brother’s Keeper Alliance

Two young men, one with a medium-deep skin tone the other with a medium-light skin tone sit at a table with a woman with a light skin tone. They all smile and wear business attire.

For nearly a decade, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance has led a cross-sector national call to action focused on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity.

For nearly a decade, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance has led a cross-sector national call to action focused on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity. In 2022, the MBK Alliance worked to drive impact on the six MBK Milestones by designing immersive experiences for youth, as well as supporting the local systems leaders from our network of nearly 250 MBK Communities. Our network serves thousands of young men of color.

A young boy with a deep skin tone jumps in the air throwing a basketball. To the left, two more young men run. Behind them, a bright blue sky and a palm tree.

A Summer of Safety is a Summer of Freedom

Summer is a challenging time for boys and young men in our community. With school out of session, they have more time to fill. That’s why the MBK Alliance created Freedom Summer, an initiative to support local organizations that are working to provide safe and productive places where our young people can learn and have fun.

The 2022 program cycle provided $1 million in small grants to 51 gantees in Chicago and across the country that are expanding spaces and programming where boys and young men of color are free from violence, one of the key milestones that guides the Alliance’s work. Thanks to a growing network of backbone entities, we’ve helped reach 8,000 young people.

A young boy with a deep skin tone stands on a boat looking through binoculars. He wears a bright yellow t-shirt and a backwards yellow hat. Behind him there is blue water and the Chicago city skyline.

Teaming up with Ravensbourne University London and Vault 49, MBK Chicago gave a group of young men an opportunity to celebrate basketball culture and expressive art through a cultural exchange program. In a trip of a lifetime, the Chicago-based youth received advice from college-aged students, toured popular sites, and more. Guided by one of our MBK Milestones, this effort delivered apprenticeship opportunities that supported the young men’s career aspirations.

Welcoming the London-based young men to Chicago next, the group sat down with fashion designer Don C., visited the Chicago Bulls, toured the Wilson Basketball Offices, and explored other areas of Chicago. Take a look at what your support made possible:

My Brother’s Keeper Alliance travels to London

MBK Alliance program participants also touched down in Houston, Texas, to spend the week at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four tournament. The young men got a behind-the-scenes look at how tournaments like these are produced, from media coverage to operations and logistics.

A Closer Look: Protecting our Mental Health

The MBK Alliance hosted a two-part series in response to the growing mental health crisis impacting communities of color, with a focus on boys and young men of color. The conversations addressed the shared experiences of communities of color with mental health and offered helpful resources and testimonies to an audience of MBK communities.

Seven young men in uniforms with a range of light to deep skin tones create posters. The boy in the center has a medium skin tone and is holding two signs that read, “I am because we are'' and “Dare to dream.”

A Digital Home for the MBK Leadership Network

To be more deeply involved in the work of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, we invited communities and organizations to become involved in the MBK Leadership Network via our online learning management platform. The platform ensures communities can complete the My Brother’s Keeper certification process and build community with fellow leaders.

Community leaders are also paired with a My Brother’s Keeper Community Coach for individual consultation and small group coaching by region and/or milestone affinity. Through the online platform, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance is the standard-setter that provides tools, resources, and opportunities designed to bolster the network of MBK Communities.