The White House has partnered with EBONY magazine to launch a national summit series with the hope of brainstorming new ways to help Black boys succeed in school and in life. The national tour will kick off this Friday on March 28 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. 

A follow-up to President Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" campaign announcement last month at the White House, the tour will bring together young people and experts to address the issues facing Black males and the effectiveness of solutions currently in-place nationwide. 

Goals for the summit series include raising awareness about the importance of investing in African-American educational excellence beginning at birth to guarantee students, schools and communities are supported in learning. Individuals and organizations successfully supporting African-American educational excellence will also be highlighted.

Additionally, the series will focus on the importance of community engagement by creating opportunities for parents, grandparents, guardians and concerned adults to provide support to local youth.

"We need as many conversations as possible that focus on how to improve education," said David Johns, executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African-Americans.

“We want to let people know that this isn’t just a Washington conversation.”

Higher education leaders such as Morehouse College President John Wilson and Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College, are scheduled to speak at the summit on Friday. Students, local politicians and business executives from Coca Cola, Deloitte Consulting and Netflix will also participate in several speaker panels.

Additional summits will be held later in the year in Philadelphia; Jackson, Mississippi; and Oakland, California.

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(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)