Hosting the first ever statewide summit, My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio (MBKSA) hosted more than 50 leaders from across the state for the Texas My Brother’s Keeper Summit (#TXMBK16). Held at UTSA’s downtown campus, participants spent the day listening, learning, and sharing best practices on how to work with young men of color in their respective communities.
Mayor Ivy Taylor along with Congressman Will Hurd (TX-23) and James Cole Jr, General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. Department of Education helped welcome the participants to the summit. Providing a local, state and national perspective, each of the opening speakers provided both personal and economic reasons for the importance of this work.
“San Antonio is one out of 250 communities nationwide focused on closing the gaps of opportunity amongst are young people and that is to be commended,” said Cole. “By focusing on 4 pillars: high school completion rates; post-secondary attainment; workforce development and reducing violence & recidivism San Antonio is working towards ensuring all individuals have access to the same opportunities for economic success and mobility,” said Taylor.
Multiple panels were presented including a cities’ panel moderated by Priscilla Camacho, VP of Education & Workforce for the Chamber. During this panel, city representatives from Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio explained their individual goals and strategies for their respective MBK organizations and best practices.
The second half of the day focused on mentorship including technical assistance from Dr. Robert Belfanz who co-chairs the national MBK Success Mentors Initiative and is principal investigator at the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University. Other presenters included representatives of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of San Antonio, Northside ISD, San Antonio ISD, Austin ISD, and UTSA’s Institute for P-20 Initiatives.
At the end of the day, the group was challenged to come together collectively to put forth policy priorities that can be advocated for during the 2017 Texas Legislative Session. “We are the major metro-areas of the state of Texas and we should be advocating for those resources and support needed to ensure our young people are succeeding and that we do not leave anyone behind in the process,” said Taylor.
For more information on MBKSA please visit their website.
