Hope Has an Address: My Brother’s Keeper

Hope Has an Address is a powerful, narrative-driven audio series that brings listeners inside the transformative work of the Obama Foundation and the Obama Presidential Center. Hosted by Bridgette “Bri” Wood, each episode highlights the people, programs, and principles driving real change, particularly in Black communities across the U.S. and around the world. Through storytelling, interviews, and on-the-ground reporting, the series explores how hope becomes action.

In this debut episode, My Brother’s Keeper, the program dives into the Obama Foundation initiative designed to support boys and young men of color. Listeners hear how one MBK leader is helping young men navigate challenges, find structure, and build brighter futures, graduating high school, enrolling in college, and launching careers. The episode also explores how MBK’s work extends beyond mentorship to address mental health, education access, and leadership development.It’s a powerful reminder that hope doesn’t just inspire—it builds.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hope in the face of difficulty, Hope in the face
of uncertainty, the audacity of hope. I'm asking you to
believe not in my ability to bring about change, but
in yours. Yes we can in every story we tell.
Hope lives here where history meets opportunity, progress and empowerment.

(00:23):
Welcome to Hope has an address where we shine a
light on the people and programs making real changes in
communities around the world. I'm your host, Bree Would for
the Black Information Network. Today We're headed to sunny Rio
de Jannio, Brazil, where something pretty amazing just happened. The

(00:43):
Obama Foundations My Brother's Keeper Alliance brought together eight young
men from Chicago and Newark for a powerful cultural exchange.
Two of them, DeVante Dudley from Newark and Jaqueza Thomas
from Chicago, opened up about what it meant to be
a part of this incredible experience. Let's takes a slight experience.
You get to learn from the President, get to learn
from them as a man, that's an individual. If I

(01:05):
think described this the holy experience in one't worry, allowed
to be transforming up and really, what better way to
kick off a trip than at the beach, golden sand,
ocean breeze, you can hear the waves crashing in the background,
and a group of young men just taking a moment
to soak it all in. For many of them, that
was unlike anything they'd ever experienced. That's why Mark komisoniis

(01:27):
executive director of My Brothers Keeper Newark, took a moment
to speak about the challenges that some of these young
men might face once they return home, when the beach
is just a memory and real life sets back in.
Having these young men come together after spending a week
in Brazil reminds me of the story of one of
the young men, Marquise's Food said, I'm not sure that
I could do this at home. Can they create those

(01:47):
types of safe spaces for as a young men in
the city? And once they touched back down in the US,
the challenge was accepted. The group recently reunited over dinner
and a roundtable conversation where they cut up and reflected
on how life since their time abroad. Robert Clark, executive
director of the Newark Opportunity Youth Network, was there and
he said he couldn't have hoped for a better outcome.

(02:09):
It was pure magic. It's almost like they've known each
other their entire lives. The banter, the laughter, and it's
everything we aspire for them. Qualin Rio, the group visited
the Barrel Favella, a small community known for its resistance
and grassroots organizing. They spend time with the local youth
group there, swapping stories and exploring Rio's Little Africa. The
connection through music, art, and shared cultural roots brought them

(02:31):
together in a way that went far beyond words. This
trip is just one part of what My Brother's Keeper
is all about. Young Men from all over the world
are coming together, working on everything from education and mental
health to leadership and mentorship. It's more than a program,
it's a movement. Shaheed Finch, a young black man from
My Brother's Keeper Newark, said the trip gave him a

(02:52):
whole new sense of purpose in life. I didn't know
what to do them only the trip definitely brought me
back to where I needed to be in order to
just be successful for us of my And to top
it all off, the young men got to meet the
man himself, the forty fourth presidents of the United States,
Barack Obama, and of course he shared some meaningful end
uplifting words to inspire them as they move forward on
their journeys. You're going to get confidence in yourself and

(03:14):
then you should come to a point and travel helps
with this. Meeting new people helps with this. Where there
shouldn't be any room you walk into where you're not
comfort Their conversation was real and heartfelt, full of honest
stories about growth and self discovery. These young men opened
to up about how the cultural exchange didn't just change
how they see the world now, it changed how they
see themselves. In Newark alone, My Brother's Keeper helped cut

(03:37):
homicides by more than fifty percent, and that's just the beginning.
They introduced a whole new way of thinking about public safety,
treating violence like a public health issue. That's real change,
that's community driven. And President Obama's message couldn't have been clearer.
When we invest in our youth and give them global
opportunities like this one, everybody wins. Young Men who were

(03:58):
strangers just a while though, are now bonded like brothers.
It was a powerful reminder that hope has an address.
And if you want to learn more about My Brother's Keeper,
there's no better time than now. Get involved. Visit Obama
dot org. I'm Breewood for the Black Information Network. Join
us next time for more stories of global impact rooted

(04:18):
in local action.