My Brother's Keeper Milwaukee · Black Men Organizing
Building a durable system for Black male achievement
Milwaukee doesn't lack programs. It lacks a durable system that connects them. This is the living record of how Black men in Milwaukee are building one, together.
One house
Two efforts, one table. My Brother's Keeper brings the national framework. Black Men Organizing brings the men already leading in Milwaukee.
My Brother's Keeper Milwaukee
Part of the Obama Foundation's MBK Alliance: a national framework, tools, relationships and legitimacy. Milwaukee's milestones: high school graduation and postsecondary completion, treated as one continuum.
Black Men Organizing
A network of Black men already leading churches, schools, businesses and nonprofits, organized in three committees: youth and education, health and wellness, and Black wealth and economics.
The backbone
GLUE is the backbone. Marquette University's CURTO is the research partner. Running Rebels anchors the work with young people.
The journey
How the work got here, in order.
Milwaukee helps start a national movement
Milwaukee is among the first cities in the national Campaign for Black Male Achievement. The work produces the city's Black Male Achievement Advisory Council and its MBK Action Plan. Walter Lanier is part of it from the start.
The founders reconnect
As the Obama Foundation's MBK Alliance moves to reengage Milwaukee, the county reconnects the Alliance with the local leaders who launched the work.
The practitioners choose a point person
Asked to name a lead, the practitioners choose Walter Lanier. He accepts: "I will be our point person as we continue to mobilize and organize."
The city and county make it official
Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley sign a joint declaration naming Milwaukee's MBK backbone.
Black Men Organizing launches
GLUE launches BMO to connect Black men already leading across the metro area.
One house
GLUE becomes the formal MBK backbone, with Marquette's CURTO as data partner and BMO as the community base. On September 19, BMO's youth and education work and MBK join forces.
The intergenerational series opens
"Brotherhood and Violence Prevention" draws 126 people, the largest gathering of the year, with Running Rebels, the Medical College of Wisconsin and UnityMKE.
The MKE 5K
Black men walk and run through Milwaukee together. Fit for life. Pause for peace.
The MBK Resource Hub
Connecting young men to resources and opportunities, equipping the adults who serve them, and tracking outcomes, starting with the young people Running Rebels already serves.
By the numbers
Saturday gatherings, January 17 – August 1, 2026. Source: Running Rebels attendance tracker.
776
attendances across 25 Saturdays
313
different people
95
young people 18 and under
247
men
126
at the largest gathering
The gatherings
A four-part public conversation across generations, one domain each quarter.
Q1
Violence prevention & conflict resolution
Q2
Health & wellness
Q3
Youth & education
Q4
Wealth & economics
Voices
Conversations with Black men leading in Milwaukee.
“Our stories don't belong to us. They belong to someone else who needs to hear them.”
Ed Hennings
Founder, Go Time Trucking · author
“If we did more prevention, there's no need for intervention.”
Hassiem Babatu
Voice of the Elders · North Avenue Community Ambassadors
“If the youth in Milwaukee knew they were loved, it would be a completely different place.”
JaQai Ali
Community organizer, WestCare
Pull up a chair
Gatherings meet on Saturdays; dates are posted here. Bring a young man with you.
Partners: Running Rebels · Medical College of Wisconsin · UnityMKE · Marquette University CURTO