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New Initiative Targets Minority Males - In a national attempt to help young boys and men of color achieve greatness and reach their full potential, President Barack Obama formally launched My Brother’s Keeper initiative on Thursday. BET.com goes inside My Brother's Keeper initiative to break down how it will benefit you and your son. —Dominique Zonyéé (@DominiqueZonyee)(Photo: Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)

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Why Launch My Brother’s Keeper? - “The president has made clear the challenges facing young men and boys of color are of great importance to him,” White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said. African-American and Latino boys face disparities in our schools, our communities, our criminal justice system and our families. According to a White House blog, Obama is committed to helping to break down barriers.(Photo: Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune/MCT/LANDOV)

Photo By Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune/MCT/LANDOV

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Taking Action - “The president has made clear the challenges facing young men and boys of color are of great importance to him,” White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett said. African-American and Latino boys face disparities in our schools, our communities, our criminal justice system and our families. According to a White House blog, Obama is committed to helping to break down barriers.(Photo: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

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An Obama First - “This initiative represents first direct work, targeted towards communities of color. And I think it is significant that he is now doing this,” Sam Fulwood, the Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, told BET.com. “Also it should not be lost on any, that while this is led by the president and the White House, this is primarily a public appeal rather than a government appeal." (Photo: Courtesy of the Center for American Progress)

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Presidential Task Force - The force, led by Cabinet Secretary Broderick Johnson, will help the White House determine the effectiveness of the initiative. The task force will identify what public and private efforts are working and how to expand them, how the federal government’s own policies and programs can better support these efforts and more.(Photo: Courtesy of University of Michigan)

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Foundations on Board - The White House teamed up with businesses and foundations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Atlantic Philanthropies, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the California Endowment, the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Foundation and more. These groups have contributed $150 million to the cause. They will work together in the next 90 days to build strategies on and infrastructure for coordination of these investments.(Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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Businesses Also Support the Initiative - Obama is expected to meet with several business leaders including Joe Echevarria of Deloitte, Magic Johnson of Magic Johnson Enterprises, Adam Silver of the National Basketball Association, Thomas Tull of Legendary Entertainment and others to come up with a plan for their organizations to help boys of color.(Photo: Dana Nalbandian/Getty Images for Free The Children)

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The Bottom Line - “The bottom line is there is an empirical reason to focus deliberate attention on Hispanic and African-American boys,” Cecilia Muñoz, the White House Director of Domestic Policy, told reporters on a conference call. Thus, the overall goal of the initiative is to help young Black and Latino men reach their full potential in school, home and in the workforce.(Photo: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

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How Will This Benefit Me or My Son? - Currently, 14 percent of Black boys and 18 percent of Latino boys perform at or above proficiency on fourth-grade reading exams compared to 42 percent of white boys. My Brother’s Keeper will try to ensure that minority children have the opportunity and resources to improve and succeed.(Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)