Jerlando Jackson honored in video for service to My Brother’s Keeper

 Jerlando Jackson, the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who received his doctorate in education from Iowa State in 2000, was recently honored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education in a video highlighting his service to My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative by former President Barack Obama to create more opportunities for men of color to succeed. In the video, Jackson reflected on his experiences working with the White House and My Brother’s Keeper initiative. Jackson serves as the coordinator for the higher, postsecondary, and continuing education program and as a faculty affiliate for Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education. In addition, he founded and serves as director and chief research scientist of Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei Lab).

Jackson Visits White House to Discuss My Brother’s Keeper

Jackson Visits White House to Discuss My Brother's Keeper
Jackson Visits the White House to Discuss My Brother’s Keeper

Wisconsin’s Equity & Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB) Director and Chief Research Scientist Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackson visited the White House on June 17 to discuss My Brother’s Keeper initiatives being implemented in Michigan.

Jackson, the Chair of the Grand Commission on Young African American Males for Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity Boulé, joined fellow members of the fraternity and representatives from Eastern Michigan University and the Saginaw (MI) Public School District to present two successful examples of programs they are implementing in Michigan as a result of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) pledge.

Jackson and the other attendees informed White House representatives about the Men of Color Degree Completion and Retention Plan at Eastern Michigan University, which seeks to help men of color transition smoothly, persist in their studies and graduate ready for success. The evidence-based, comprehensive approach seeks to address the negative impacts men of color face on campus, and to assure their success after they graduate.

The mission of the second initiative, Saginaw Public School District’s Centric Program, has been designed to enhance male students’ awareness of career options; to improve their ability to pursue a college degree; and to elevate student’s self-esteem and self-worth. With a focus on improving reading, math and science skills in addition to addressing character and behavioral issues, the school district seeks to improve students’ academic standing.

Jackson is the Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is actively involved in several MBK initiatives, especially that of Madison, Wisconsin. In 2015, Jackson stood alongside Madison Mayor Paul Soglin and others to introduce the city’s own initiatives aimed at combatting the racial inequalities in Madison.

Following a pledge made last year in response to President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) challenge, Madison Mayor Paul Soglin announced the city’s own initiatives to tackle racial disparities in 2015.

WCER Executive Director Prof. Jerlando Jackson and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin announce the local  intiative of "My Brother's Keeper."
WCER Executive Director Prof. Jerlando Jackson and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin announce the local intiative of “My Brother’s Keeper.”

UW-Madison’s Jerlando F. L. Jackson stood with Soglin and other civic and community leaders to introduce the Madison-specific measures that seek to bolster young men of color, ensuring they reach their full potential. Jackson is a Vilas Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, and the director and chief research scientist of Wisconsin’s Equity and Inclusion Laboratory (Wei LAB), which is housed in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). He is a faculty member with the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.

“I was delighted to see Madison among the communities to accept the challenge by President Obama,” said Jackson. “I was also pleased to lend the expertise of the Wei LAB to support the City of Madison and Dane County as they prioritize the advancement of males of color in the community.”

In 2014, Obama introduced the My Brother’s Keeper initiative to combat the persistent and pervasive opportunity gaps facing people of color across the U.S., and encouraging communities across the country to take on the responsibility of minimizing these gaps. MBK is focused on achieving six important milestones: getting a healthy start and entering school ready to learn; reading at grade level by third grade; graduating from high school ready for college and career; completing postsecondary education or training; successfully entering the workforce; and keeping kids on track and giving them second chances.

President Barack Obama at the signs the "My Brother's Keeper" Initiative surrounded by the young men it will serve.  Photo from U.S. Historical files
President Barack Obama at the signing of the “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative surrounded by the young men it will serve. Photo from U.S. Historical files.

Madison was among 100 early acceptors of the MBK challenge and has proceeded by following the MBK handbook guidelines, which lists four critical steps for participating communities to pursue: accept the President’s challenge; convene a ‘Local Action Summit’ to build an MBK Community; conduct a policy review and form recommendations for action; and launch a plan of action, next steps and a timetable for review. At present, the city is preparing to launch a plan of action.

Based on answers provided by surveyed youth, the City of Madison selected two goals: ensuring youth graduate from high school and keeping youth safe from violent crime. Madison’s initiative will pursue full-service schooling for all children, emphasizing family, health and community support in addition to academics, and a renewed focus by local law enforcement on restorative justice. The two programs are being presented to the national leadership of MBK as examples of how a community can proceed after it has accepted the MBK challenge.

At the news conference, Soglin highlighted Jackson as a key information resource for the city’s initiatives and he also identified Jackson as an expert in the systems the city is trying to improve, while also referring to the Wei LAB as “one of the great secrets of our community.”

The Wei LAB is working with the presidential leadership of MBK on multiple programs throughout the nation. Jackson said he is eager to put the expertise of the Wei LAB to use to improve Madison. In mid-June, Jackson visited the White House to present two other initiatives the Wei LAB recommends for inclusion in the MBK challenge.

My Brother's Keeper 2016 Progress Report “Hopefully in the very near future the work that we are doing here will be presented in the Oval Office as a stellar example of what changes can occur when a community comes together with the right kind of commitment,” Jackson said.

The City of Madison has a longstanding tradition of engagement with issues dedicated to eradicating obstacles of opportunity, particularly for young boys and men of color. This fall, the Wei LAB will officially launch the PROMISE Project; a cross sector problem-solving platform that aligns and advances community efforts focused on eliminating educational and workforce disparities across Wisconsin.

The LAB has partnered with a host of community agents who have been at the table, and played a significant role in Madison’s MBK, such as the United Way of Dane County, the Urban League of Greater Madison, Dane County Sherriff’s Office, Madison Area Technical College, the Justified Anger Coalition, XL Academics, and the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male at the Ohio State University. Lesley-Anne Pittard, the Wei LAB’s chief liaison for cultivating and managing external partnerships, is responsible for coordination of the Wei LAB’s outreach and collaborative efforts for this initiative.

Portions of this article written by Mia Sato