Brothers on the Rise

Brothers on the Rise (BOTR) launched in 2008 to address multiple challenges disproportionately affecting boys and young men of color (BYMOC), including dropout, unemployment, incarceration, and exposure to violence, including death by homicide.  BOTR provides urban male youth with peaceful and positive alternatives to pressures to get involved in drug, gang and other criminal activity.  Our safe spaces allow BYMOC to “step out of the box” and share vulnerable feelings, receive support from caring male mentors, and learn skills to succeed in spite of these dangers.

BOTR’s preventive, pipeline programming guides boys along a path to a responsible, peaceful, caring and productive manhood.  We empower low-income urban males of color aged 8-17 with needed literacy, life skills, leadership and career development culminating in college and community benefit careers.  Our cascading mentorship model links adult male staff and volunteers to Lift a Brother Up 9-12th grade young men acting as interns to Brothers, UNITE! 3rd-8th grade male youth participants.

Brothers, UNITE! is a manhood training program which uses culturally based ritual; media literacy and arts education; sportsmanship, fitness and outdoor education; service learning and social action.  Lift a Brother Up career development program brings young men of color into health and human service professions, where males are greatly underrepresented yet vitally needed.  This initiative provides paid internship, job training, professional mentorship, and college prep.  Brothers Helping Brothers is a “wrap around” program, offering counseling, case management and parent education.

BOTR also provides staff development workshops, curricula, coaching, consultation and convening for schools and agencies.  We license proven BOTR models for delivery at other local institutions, facilitate on-going learning communities, and engage in other capacity building which empowers organizations to better serve BYMOC.  BOTR also contributes to a growing literature through scholarly investigation and publications, including op-ed pieces and journal articles.

In 2014, BOTR directly served over 100 youth and impacted thousands more through systems change work.   We consistently meet targeted goals of building youth resiliency, which protects against involvement in risky behaviors and support personal, academic and professional success.  Our youth complete service, social action projects and internships – all which uplift other BYMOC and their communities as a whole – while moving from grade to grade towards graduation and entry to colleges like Merritt and UC Santa Cruz. Our alumni also actively contribute through jobs with places like Oakland Public Library and CA In-Home Supportive Services.

We also shared BOTR curricula for delivery by youth organizations across 7 Bay Area cities.  We trained and consulted with school districts, county mental health agencies, and countless nonprofits, to bring them culturally competent, effective, and equitable practices.  Our model was used to launch a college men of color program at Iowa State University and we conducted national research on out of school time work with BYMOC resulting in a pending journal article with Afterschool Matters.

BOTR has been recognized as a model prevention program by National Council for Crime and Delinquency and its founder and Director was awarded a Jefferson Award for Public Service. A recent evaluation conducted by Oakland Fund for Children and Youth rated Brothers, UNITE! a 4.42 out of 5, or only .08 from a thriving, model, youth development program.  We also received a 2013 National Philanthropy Day Vineyards Award, honoring an innovative group with limited resources effectively addressing a community problem through passion, commitment and partnerships.

To build on these successes, BOTR launched this campaign, “Manning Up to Our Responsibility,” to raise awareness and resources.  Increased funding will be used to hone program models, expand direct services throughout our city, and share BOTR’s proven program models on a broader scale.  As we reach a critical “tipping point” of schools and agencies receiving BOTR youth programs and capacity building support, we believe our successful outcomes will spread throughout Oakland and the Bay Area, providing blueprints for larger scale change.

Help us empower urban male youth of color and the core institutions that serve them so we can facilitate good health, academic achievement and a successful transition to economic independence.  Through our efforts, we will create more peaceful, just, and equitable communities for men, women and children of all backgrounds to enjoy.