In 2014, President Obama launched the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative and issued a powerful call to action to close opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color. To scale and sustain this mission, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK Alliance) was launched in 2015 as an independent nonprofit organization.

In the 2016–2017 New York State Budget, New York became the first state to accept the President’s challenge and enacted the My Brother’s Keeper initiative into law. New York State made a $20 million investment in support of the initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color. The New York State My Brother’s Keeper Community Network (NYCMBK Community Network) includes more than 23 recognized communities: Albany, Brentwood, Bronx, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Dunkirk, East Ramapo, Greenburgh, Hudson, Ithaca, Lyons, Manhattan, Mt. Vernon, Newburgh Enlarged, New Rochelle, Ossining, Poughkeepsie, Queens, Rochester, Staten Island, Syracuse, White Plains, and Yonkers.