Congresswoman Lee Hails President Obama's New Initiative for Men of Color, 'My Brother's Keeper'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2014
Contact: Carrie Adams (202) 225-2661
Washington, D.C.— Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statement upon attending President Obama’s launch of “My Brother’s Keeper”:
“It was an honor to join Congressional colleagues, community leaders, the faith community, and non-profit innovators at the President’s launch of “My Brother’s Keeper.” As a mother of two phenomenal black men, who I raised as a single mother, I know these issues personally. Young men of color in our country have been left behind, the economic gains of our recovery aren’t reaching them, and time and time again, they are marginalized and forgotten. From health disparities to lower reading levels, higher unemployment rates to sky-high incarceration rates, men of color are behind on nearly every measure.
“While serving in the California legislature, I addressed these issues as chair of the California Commission on the Status of African American Males. Those findings sparked a fruitful discussion in our state, and many of the findings and recommendations are still relevant today. I hope ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ does the same for our country as a whole.
“This initiative, I know, is a priority for President Obama, and I look forward to the positive impact that ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ will have on the lives of young men of color, from infant to adulthood, as well as the positive force this will be in our communities and in our country.”
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Follow Barbara Lee on Facebook and Twitter at @RepBarbaraLee. To learn more, visit lee.house.gov.
Congresswoman Lee is a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, the Steering and Policy Committee, is a Senior Democratic Whip, former chair of both the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus. She serves as chair of the newly formed Whip’s Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity.