Hi there,
Being the “first” is not always easy. I was the first to graduate from high school and college in my family. Growing up in the Nation’s Capital, I never knew that the campus I passed regularly on Georgia Avenue would be where I’d go from curious teenager to undergraduate student leader to second-year Howard Law School student. I also never knew that, when I was in high school learning who I was and what I wanted to be, I’d be given the opportunity to be part of the first My Brother’s Keeper White House Mentorship and Leadership Program. And that a few years later, I’d have the opportunity to tell President Obama how much his journey inspired my own.
This evening at 9 pm Central, I’ll join President Obama and Jonathan Capehart for another “first”: A nationally televised conversation about leadership, democracy, and opportunity on MSNBC.
Alongside us will be other MBK leaders: my fellow Bison, Christian “CJ” Johnson, a Howard freshman and recent graduate of Ron Brown College Preparatory All-Male High School—launched as part of Washington, D.C.’s response to the MBK initiative—and Dr. Edwin Quezada, the superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools, who immigrated to America from the Dominican Republic as a teenager and went on to help create MBK Yonkers and MBK New York State.
CJ, Dr. Quezada, and I are part of a big My Brother’s Keeper family, with thousands of youth and community leaders working side by side across the country to ensure boys and young men of color—and all young people—can reach their full potential. Tonight, we’ll tell our stories, reflect on how President Obama’s historic journey shaped ours, and discuss what it will take to ensure the next generation of young leaders can turn the unprecedented activism of recent months into change that will last for generations.
I was just 16 years old when I became part of MBK and the White House Mentorship and Leadership Program. I remember it like it was yesterday—the first time my fellow mentees and I met President Obama, or the time when he surprised us by ending one of our college prep workshops early so we could all go play HORSE with him on the White House basketball court. It was like I was in a dream. While we played ball—some of us better than others—President Obama gave us one of what would be many “dad talks,” masterclasses on what we needed to do to grow from boys to young men, and why it was important that we didn’t wait to get involved and give back to the communities that had given so much to us.
Those years—and those words—continue to inspire everything I do. It’s why I started my own nonprofit while in undergrad to help other college students of color. It’s why this summer I was so proud to be an intern with Liberty Hill Foundation—an MBK Alliance Impact Community partner that works to support youth justice and education equity in Los Angeles County. It was yet another exciting and challenging “first” as part of my mission to create a pathway to opportunity for countless other young men and women from communities like mine, so they can have their firsts too.
My journey is just one example of the countless boys and young men of color whose lives have been forever changed because leaders like President Obama and the many coaches, mentors, educators, moms, and dads who have put the words “My Brother’s Keeper” into action. They believe every kid’s dream is worthwhile no matter who they are or where they come from.
I hope you’ll tune in tonight on MSNBC at 9 pm Central to hear more of these stories of impact and inspiration from President Obama, CJ, Dr. Quezada, and me.
And please spread the word to tune in and check out ways you can get involved and take action today and help more kids have a “first” just like me.
Best,
—Jerron
Jerron Hawkins
The Obama Foundation |
