White House Initiative director David Johns hosts summit at Morehouse

IMG_9107

As a direct link to President Obama’s “My Brother’s Keeper” campaign that the president announced in February, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence executive director David Johns hosted a “Black Male Summit” at Morehouse College to develop ways to better educate young black males in America.

One of the main goals of the summit meetings will be to hear from researchers and educators who can share their ideas on how to reduce or eliminate the African American achievement gap, according to David Johns, executive director of the White House initiative on African-American education. Johns said he will be working closely with Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, who will direct a task force that will spearhead the “Brother’s Keeper” campaign.


“We need as many conversations as possible that focus on how to improve education,” Johns said. “We want to let people know that this isn’t just a Washington conversation.”


TV political commentator Jeff Johnson facilitated some of the panel discussions. Fulton County Commission Chair John Eaves, Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell and Courtney English, chair of the Atlanta school board, were among the participants of the event. Several local teachers, professors and college students also served as panelists.

Philanthropists and corporate leaders participating in the national campaign have pledged to invest at least $200 million over the next five years — on top of $150 million that they have already invested — to help replicate the most successful programs helping men and boys of color across the nation.


“Business leaders will need to create more mentorships and apprenticeships to show more young people what careers are out there,” Obama said of the initiative. “Tech leaders will need to open young eyes to fields like computer science and engineering. Faith leaders will need to help our young men develop the values and ethical framework that is the foundation for a good and productive life. So we all have a job to do …”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join our Newsletter

Sign up for Rolling Out news straight to your inbox.

Read more about:
Also read