If you are an African-American man and/or teenager who is working to improve the conditions of crimen-ridden Baltimore, you can receive up to $20,000 for your community engagement projects, thanks to a joint partnership between the Knight and Open Society Foundations.
The Black Male Engagement Initiative (BMe) will provide a total of $200,000 in grants for city residents who submit applications by March 1 for projects designed to engage other African-American fathers, entrepreneurs, students, artists, and community activists. Applications also are open to black men working on Baltimore-based projects.
“It is important for my generation of young black men to give back and make sure they don’t fall by the wayside,” said 30-year-old Cory McCray, a union representative for Maryland electricians. “It is our duty to help bring up the next generations.” McCray is part of the network of black men that BMe is trying to build in Baltimore as a way to strengthen the community. Rodney Foxworth, community engagement manager for BMe, said the goal is to build collaborations among black men and cultivate grass-roots solutions to community problems. The grants are intended to reward those men who are serving their neighbors. ”The primary purpose is to recognize and celebrate African-American males as assets to the community,” Foxworth said. “I want to see black men be able to mobilize and feel empowered, to come together to make things happen in Baltimore. Black men are doing great things every single day, but often we feel like we’re working in isolation.” The initiative drew more than 2,000 men last year in Detroit and Philadelphia when applications were accepted in those cities. Depending on the initiative’s success, Foxworth said it could become an annual offering.
“What’s more important is recognizing that there are thousands of men in Baltimore who are willing to do more than their fair share,” said Trabian Shorters, vice president of communities for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. “We have a chance to recognize them and acknowledge what they bring to the city. They have something that our money could never buy. They have the relationships, the trust and their relationship have earned them respect.”
Click here to complete the application process.
Maria Lloyd (@WritingsByMaria) is the Business Manager for the Your Black World Network and Dr. Boyce Watkins. She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University and an advocate of dismantling the prison industrial complex, increasing entrepreneurship, reforming education, and eradicating poverty.
Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Wednesday, February 20th 2013 at 2:42PM
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