Conservatives have a long list of grievances against President Barack Obama: Russia, Obamacare, Benghazi, the IRS, and more. But Obama has done one thing right, and conservatives should give him credit. Last Thursday, Obama announced the My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
My Brother’s Keeper has two main elements. First, private charities and business have pledged to invest $200 million over the next five years for programs that impact education, parenting, and improve opportunities for young men and minorities.
The second part of the initiative is the creation of a My Brother’s Keeper Task Force, which aims to determine the effectiveness of current federal government programs. It will also support the efforts of local governments, as well as the private charities and businesses.
Most importantly, the president’s new initiative is finally bringing attention to the problems that have plagued young African American men: the lack of a father in the home.
President Obama’s story gives this initiative a real opportunity at success. Young African American men are stuck with role models like rap artist and athletes. These young men are portrayed in films and television as victims of a system that is weighted against them.
Obama’s story serves as an alternative to all of this. It shows that there are real opportunities for all of them.
During his remarks about the new initiative, the president spoke about his recent trip to Chicago, where at-risk African American youth shared their stories with him. During his visit, Obama shared his story: “When I was their age, I was a lot like them. I didn’t have a dad in the house… I made bad choices. I got high without always thinking about the harm it could do.”
He continued on to say, “I firmly believe that every child deserves the same chances that I had…This is an issue of national importance… It is an issue that goes to the very heart of why I ran for president. Because if America stands for anything, it stands for the idea of opportunity for everybody. The notion that no matter who you are or where you came from, or the circumstances into which you are born, if you work hard, if you take responsibility, then you can make it in this country.”
President Obama is right, and having Obama as a spokesperson is critical for the program’s success.
Such an initiative is long overdue. A look at the statistics makes this issue ever more concerning. 56 percent of all jail inmates come from single-parent households. 72 percent of black babies are born out of wedlock, compared to only 29 percent of white babies. 48 percent of children in single female households live in poverty, compared to 11 percent of children living in married couple families. 71 percent of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. And boys with only one parent are twice as likely to become gang members as boys with both.
“These statistics should break our hearts and they compel us to act,” Obama said.
The political atmosphere in our country has become incredibly polarized, especially at Hillsdale where any mention of an Obama, big government, socialist, or progressive policy inspires students to start quoting the Founders like robots. This is all the more reason why we as conservatives should support the administration when it is right.
Obama’s making this an issue is a good enough reason alone to support his efforts. For too long, civil rights leaders and those on the left have failed to call for responsibility on the part of those they supposedly represent. Instead, for years they victimized those in minority communities.
President Obama is calling on members of these communities to take responsibility.
“We need to encourage fathers to stick around and remove the barriers to marriage and talk openly about things like responsibility and faith and community,” Obama said.
Further, this is a privately-funded endeavor. We should applaud this administration’s realization that the private sector and private charity are capable of tackling today’s social problems.
Finally, Obama has finally taken a strong stance on the importance of a two-parent household and the importance of marriage.
“Our family structure suffers,” he said. “Our civic life suffers.”
Conservatives are continually up in arms about this administration’s attacks on the family, but Obama has offered an olive branch through his emphasis on the traditional family in overcoming the issues that face minority communities.
I dislike Obama and his big government policies as much as any Hillsdale student but this an important opportunity for conservatives to rightly support our president.
