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Oakland – Are you a graduating African American male student from the San Francisco Bay Area headed to college in the fall? If so, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation invites you to be recognized on Wednesday, June 8, at the College Bound Brotherhood Graduation, a unique ceremony honoring African American male students from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Our goal is to reinforce a college-going culture among young Black male students,” said Cedric Brown, CEO of the Kapor Foundation. “College education is a crucial vehicle for economic and social mobility. We are celebrating the achievements of young Black men who are defying the odds and are on their way toward creating change for themselves, their families, and our communities.”
The event is part of the Foundation’s College Bound Brotherhood program, which aims to change a grim statistic: college graduates earn twice as much as those with only a high-school diploma, yet only about 11 percent of Black male students who graduate from high school in the San Francisco Bay Area have the courses and grades required to attend a California university.
Since the founding of the program in 2008, the Kapor Foundation has distributed nearly $1 million in grants to organizations that support young Black men through college readiness workshops, college tours, academic coaching, mentoring and much more. The foundation is accepting requests through June 15 for $25,000 grants to community organizations working on college readiness for young Black men. For more information on how to apply, visit mkf.org.
“Statistics for African American males in Oakland and nationwide are daunting,” said Regina Jackson, executive director of the East Oakland Youth Development Center. “With high school ‘drop out’ and high jail and prison ‘drop in’ rates, a college-bound culture is more necessary than ever. The Kapor Foundation’s strategy to bolster that culture – by building connections, providing resources and celebrating achievements – is working here in the Bay Area. Attend the upcoming graduation celebration and see the work in action.”
The College Bound Brotherhood program also has launched a public, online database that assists youth, parents and educators in locating college readiness programs in the Bay Area (collegeboundbros.org). In addition, the program provides continued support for grant recipient organizations, parents and young men through conferences, local workshops and professional development.
The event will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St. Youth who participate in the celebration will be eligible for a $100 stipend to defray the cost of college books. For more information or to RSVP, please visit http://collegeboundbrosgraduation.eventbrite.com.
