BRIGHTEST STARS, BIGGEST MESSAGE
My Brother’s Keeper: Obama, Curry host event to mentor young men of color
OAKLAND >> The young men came from far and wide to attend several events celebrating the fifth anniversary of My Brother’s Keeper. And the keynote session — a town hall Q&A led by former President Barack Obama and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry — didn’t disappoint.
Kieshaun from Fresno asked about police reform. Raul from Albuquerque inquired about his biggest childhood struggles. Leo, being from Oakland, turned the subject to music. He got an unexpected response.
“I’m going to have to listen to some of your tracks now,” Obama said, prompting Leo to start dancing as the packed Oakland Scottish Rite Center crowd let out a roar. “He gave me a little taste,” Obama then joked.
Recording star John Legend opened Tuesday’s event to spotlight the mission of My Brother’s Keeper, an Obama initiative to reduce gun violence and mentor boys and men
“I was all kinds of screwed up when I was in high school. I didn’t have a mean spirit. I did not have a sense of purpose or a clear sense of direction.”
— Barack Obama, former president of the United States
of color. But there was no question who the real star was: Obama, clearly comfortable surrounded by 23 young men on the stage and bantering with Curry as they hosted a town hall question-and-answer session.
Obama masterfully moved from serious subjects such as prison reform to Leo’s question about whether Kendrick Lamar has dropped better albums than Drake.
Now in its fifth year, My Brother’s Keeper has spread to 250 cities, and many young men came to Oakland from around the country to attend the week-long events.
A relaxed Obama did not shy away from their questions:
On growing up: “I was all kinds of screwed up when I was in high school. I didn’t have a mean spirit. I did not have a sense of purpose or a clear sense of direction. I was angry about my father not being there. Some of it was I was growing up in an environment as an African-American boy (in a place where) we didn’t have a large African-American community.”
On self-worth: “We live in a culture where our worth is measured by how much money we have and how famous we are. I will tell you at the end of the day the thing that will give you confidence is not that. I know a lot of rich people that are all messed up.”
On policing: “Some communities need more police not fewer police.” He emphasized “Building trust, knowing who is who and just because somebody is wearing a hoodie doesn’t mean they are a criminal, that is just the style.”
On full display was obvious admiration shared between Obama and Curry. Known to play a round of golf or visit when Curry is in D.C. or Obama in the Bay Area, the duo ate at Ayesha Curry’s pop-up restaurant in San Francisco on Monday evening along with Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen. Like a comedy team, the NBA star and 44th president measured frank talk about societal issues with cheap shots at one another.
Obama opened with: “For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Michelle’s husband, Barack. This is Ayesha’s husband, Steph.” After referring to “old men, older men,” Curry paused and glanced over at the graying Obama. The former president got one of the last laughs, though, responding to a question about overcoming childhood struggles.
“Steph why don’t you talk about your struggles with your ankles, man. It worked out. … He won two MVPs after that.” “I got no comeback,” Curry said. After the pair released a My Brother’s Keeper public service announcement a few years ago, about 50,000 mentors stepped forward to join the organization.
For all the chemistry, Obama and Curry come from different backgrounds. Curry’s father, former NBA player Dell Curry, was a “consistent presence” growing up, while Obama said he met his father once “and that was it.”
Curry, a father of three, said it was his father’s example that has inspired him to give back to the Oakland community.
“One moment can be a difference maker for a lifetime,” Curry said. “For me, I can speak for my teammates and people in our league, right now (there is a) social responsibility we feel, to take a stand for things we believe in, to look out for the next generation.”
To any youth in the crowd without a father, Obama pointed out it might not always have been by choice. Years of discrimination, a disproportionate number of people of color ending up in the prison system and a lack of job opportunities might have been factors.
“Oftentimes, fathers, men may not have been able to provide that consistency they may in retrospect might have wanted to,” Obama said. “We can all be surrogate fathers. We can all be big brothers. It turns out if you give somebody some attention … people respond to that. My father might not have been in my house, but there were a whole bunch of men who taught me something and guided me.”
Obama founded My Brother’s Keeper in 2014, two years after George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. Martin was unarmed. Before Obama and Curry took the stage, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis and Oscar Grant — Sybrina Fulton, Lucy McBath and Wanda Johnson — joined a panel with Legend, who also is an activist, and shared their hopes and advice for the young men at the conference.
Davis also was 17 and a resident of Florida when he was shot dead. Grant, a Hayward resident, was killed by BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle on New Year’s Day 2009. Martin’s mother, Fulton, spoke directly to the young men in the audience. Fulton asked Martin’s brother, Jahvaris, to stand and wave his hand.
“I want you to know although Trayvon is not here for me to watch grow, to watch him excel, I want all those things for you,” Fulton said. “I want all those things for my son. I want you to be educated, I want you to be strong. I want you to be leaders and not followers.”
At today’s My Brother’s Keeper event, Oakland activist Alicia Garza, Oakland-born filmmaker Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan are among the speakers meant to inspire the nation’s next generation.