What Matters is What We Do Next - Anthony Hubbard

What Matters is What We Do Next - Anthony Hubbard

The Black Lives Matter movement is on the world stage. Following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks, it is shining a big, bright spotlight on the critical and ongoing issue of the brutality that people of color, particularly Black Males, routinely face at the hands of the police and from our society at large.

As each day passes, we risk losing another soul, not only by a bullet from another officer’s gun but also by the growing equity gaps in the systems of oppression within marginalized populations and communities. Unless we address these gaps in immediate and meaningful ways, they will be the reason for countless more senseless deaths of Black Males.

We already know what the gaps are. We already know the obstacles Black Males face. We see it in the high dropout and suspensions rates in our schools. We see it in the poor and often dangerous living conditions in our neighborhoods. We see it in the family stress, the homelessness, and the substandard and often nonexistent access to adequate mental and physical health care. We see it in the cycle of underemployment in low wage jobs. We see it, but rather than hold the systems accountable and demand systemic and meaningful change, we continue to blame the victims, their families, and the communities where they live.

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What we do or do not do, right now, at this moment, is a matter of life and death.

In Rhode Island, we pride ourselves on being forward-thinkers and ahead of the curve in terms of many community and social issues. But we have consistently failed our Black Males, particularly in the realm of education.

I offer YouthBuild Preparatory Academy as a part of our local solution.

Since 2016, when Rhode Island House Bill 8113 was passed – largely due to the tireless efforts of a dedicated group of young men of color who originally came up with the idea for the school and worked to gain its approval – my team and I have worked to make YouthBuild Prep a reality. The school’s mission is to provide a liberating educational experience to all students, with a focus on engaging young men of color, preparing them to be confident, civically engaged leaders. YouthBuild is reshaping the narrative of Rhode Island’s urban youth by creating an environment for individual growth that cultivates social and emotional development, and supports them in successfully transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, and becoming integral parts of their communities. The sad irony is that the young men who dreamed of the school will never have the opportunity to benefit from its opening. They asked for help and the state turned its back on them.

We see and know the issues. So, what will it take for us to invest in the lives of Black Males?

From Los Angeles to New York City and around the globe, we are being asked to make Black Lives Matter. It is the ideal time to do our part for the young Black Males who are members of our community…our neighbors. It is time to do what is right and cut through the politics, the red tape, and the so-called “lack of funding” that has kept us from opening our doors.

We want to finish the conversation that we started in 2016.

No more talking. No more task forces. No more studies. No more empty promises.

This is a call to action to Governor Gina Raimondo, Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, Superintendent Harrison Peters, and all other leaders who say they want to make a difference. This is an opportunity to make a visible commitment in the form of dollars and a path forward to opening our school’s doors so that we can prepare our young Black Males for postsecondary education, careers, and to be leaders in our global society. Our young men deserve that.

There are organizations on the front line of supporting youth of color that are standing at the ready to partner with YouthBuild Prep. We are prepared to ensure that Black Males get the education, training, life skills, and support they need to help create meaningful, successful lives that contribute to making Rhode Island and the world a better place for all of us.

We cannot place a monetary value on a young man’s life, but we know that the right education has the power to change lives.

The activism, frustration, and calls for change that have erupted around the world in recent weeks have made the need to support and offer solutions to Black Males more important than ever before, because it matters…because they matter.

If not now, when?

Anthony Hubbard is Chief Executive Officer of YouthBuild Preparatory Academy and YouthBuild Providence.