New Orleans Ranked 4th In National Report About Cities Advancing Black Male Achievement
NEW ORLEANS—Today, the City of New Orleans was ranked 4th in The Promise of Place: Cities Advancing Black Male Achievement report by the Campaign for Black Male Achievement.
The report tracks and analyzes Black Male Achievement work happening in cities across the U.S. and is the first of its kind. New Orleans achieved the highest scores for City-led commitment with its NOLA FOR LIFE initiative and national initiatives like Cities United and My Brother’s Keeper.
“I am proud of the progress that our community has made to create opportunities that enable black men and boys in New Orleans to realize their full potential,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “With NOLA FOR LIFE and national initiatives like Cities United and My Brother’s Keeper, we are increasing opportunities, connecting people to jobs and creating pathways to prosperity. We still have a long way to go, but we are making progress each day.”
“From the beginning, the Mayor made it clear that it was important to address the challenges and identify solutions and opportunities in the design of the NOLA FOR LIFE Strategy,” said Judy Reese Morse, Deputy Mayor of Citywide Initiatives. “As with every strategic initiative, we recognized the value in bringing together cross-sector partners to address the issues facing our black men and boys. And we continue to expand our work through a new comprehensive strategy to connect disadvantaged job seekers and business to new opportunities, the Network for Economic Opportunity. We are proud of our recognition by the Campaign for Black Male Achievement and we will not stop working on solutions until our Black men and boys have opportunities to achieve success.”
The Promise of Place: Cities Advancing Black Male Achievement report unveils the Black Male Achievement (BMA) City Index, which scores a city's level of engagement and committed action helping Black men and boys achieve and reach their full potential. This report is the first step in a comprehensive strategy by CBMA to advance Black Male Achievement in cities across the country.
Along with CBMA's BMA Life Outcomes Dashboard , the report provides national leadership with key base-line data for cities across the country that CBMA hopes will help accelerate tangible improvements in life outcomes for Black men and boys. The report also outlines clear action steps to help cities make further strides toward responding to the needs of our men and boys.
The 50 cities selected in the inaugural BMA City Index represent 12 large, 18 midsize and 20 small cities. These cities are collectively home to more than 5.5 million Black men and boys, representing more than 30 percent of all Black men and boys in the United States.
