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For the second consecutive year, Emmanuel College hosted more than 150 students from the Boston Public Schools (BPS) for the summit, focused on mentorship, leadership and advancing pathways to success for young men of color in Boston.
The College’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE) collaborated with the city of Boston’s Office of Black Male Advancement in order to host the event on June 6th. Students took part in panel discussions and breakout sessions centered around technology, entrepreneurship, financial empowerment and music, and had the opportunity to network with peers and community leaders in Boston.
At the event, Mayor Michelle Wu spoke about the formation of the Office of Black Male Advancement at the event and fielded questions from BPS students in attendance.
“[We created the office] to tap into and empower the talent and excellence that exists all across our city, knock down walls, clear obstacles and give our Black men and boys the space to explore and create and build together,” Mayor Wu wrote in a social media post.
The inspiration to host the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Youth Summit at Emmanuel came from a 10-year connection between the Office of Black Male Advancement’s Policy and Research Manager, Branden Miles, who attended youth empowerment programs at the College as a Brookline High School student.
Through Brookline High School, Miles had a longstanding connection with Dr. Keith Lezama ’07, Emmanuel’s Vice President of Community Engagement, helping to form a “perfect partnership,” between the city office and the College.
Now after hosting the event for the second year running, the collaboration between Emmanuel College and the Mayor’s office has continued.
“The Office of Black Male Advancement is excited to partner with Emmanuel College and Boston Public Schools. MBK was started on a national scale by President Barack Obama and we are excited to address pathways to success, methods of empowerment, and work together on this here in Boston,” the Office of Black Male Advancement shared in a statement.
