My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio Selected for an Obama Foundation Communities Program
Designation recognizes San Antonio’s collaborative efforts to increase postsecondary success for Black and Latino young men.
San Antonio, TX (June 18, 2026) — My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) San Antonio has been selected as one of five communities nationwide to participate in the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance Accelerator Communities.
The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBK), a program of the Obama Foundation, leads a national call to action to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color. The Alliance works with local leaders and cross-sector partners to address opportunity gaps and improve life outcomes through community-driven strategies.
MBK Accelerator Communities represent a select group of MBK Certified Communities best positioned to achieve population-level impact on one of MBK’s six key milestones within the next three years. These milestones represent pivotal moments in the lives of boys and young men of color, which research proves to be predictive of long-term success. They include: entering school ready to learn, reading at grade level by third grade, graduating from high school, completing postsecondary education or training, securing employment for out-of-school youth, and ensuring youth remain safe from violent crimes.
MBK San Antonio, a collective impact network convened locally by nonprofit UP Partnership, was selected for its work advancing Milestone 4: Complete Postsecondary Education or Training, which focuses on ensuring young people have access to the education and training needed for quality jobs and long-term economic opportunity for boys and young men of color in Harlandale, Southwest, and San Antonio ISD. This designation recognizes the work already underway in San Antonio in alignment with the Future Ready Bexar County Plan, a community-wide initiative advancing college and career readiness through cross-sector collaboration among education, nonprofit, civic, and community stakeholders committed to improving outcomes for young people.
“We are honored to be recognized as an MBK Accelerator Community,” said John Jacobs, UP Partnership’s Director of K12 and Justice. “This designation reflects the dedication of partners across San Antonio who are working together to expand opportunity and improve outcomes for boys and young men of color. Through this partnership with the MBK Alliance, we will continue strengthening pathways to postsecondary education and training in school districts that have put in the work for years to ensure that boys and young men of color have the support they need through restorative practices.”
“Completing postsecondary education or training is a key milestone to ensure that our young people are on a trajectory for a prosperous future,” says MacArthur Antigua, Director, Community and Network Impact, MBK Alliance. He continues, “MBK San Antonio has shown great promise in facilitating an ecosystem where students can achieve that before they cross the stage to receive their high school diploma. By selecting them for the Accelerator cohort, we are not only confident in their ability to scaling up that success, so more of Bexar County’s young men of color can achieve that milestone but also codifying their strategies and best practices to inform the rest of our network who are also pursuing that milestone.”
As an MBK Accelerator Community, MBK San Antonio will receive MBK Alliance coaching, funding, evaluation support, and peer-to-peer learning to deepen partnerships, expand effective strategies, and track progress toward population-level impact.
As the nation marks the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a landmark dedicated to inspiring civic engagement, leadership, and community-driven change, and prepares to celebrate Juneteenth, a day that commemorates freedom and the ongoing pursuit of opportunity for all, this designation serves as a reminder that meaningful progress is built through sustained investment in young people and communities. The selection of MBK San Antonio recognizes local efforts to expand access to postsecondary education and training and reflects a broader commitment to helping boys and young men of color achieve long-term success and economic mobility.
Over the next three years, MBK San Antonio will leverage the resources and national network of the MBK Alliance to continue expanding opportunities and building brighter futures for boys and young men of color in the region.
About My Brother’s Keeper Alliance:
The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance is a program of the Obama Foundation that leads a cross-sector national call to action focused on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color. The initiative works to mobilize communities across the country to address opportunity gaps and improve life outcomes through collaborative action.
About My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio:
My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio is a cross-sector initiative led by UP Partnership as part of its broader effort to align systems and improve outcomes for young people across Bexar County. Through partnerships with school districts, community organizations, and civic leaders, MBK San Antonio focuses on expanding opportunity and strengthening pathways to postsecondary education and training for boys and young men of color.
More about UP Partnership:
Founded in 2009, UP Partnership’s mission is to ensure all young people in Bexar County are ready for the future. We are a San Antonio-based nonprofit social impact organization that coordinates data, aligns pathways and promotes policy change that can help to unlock the full potential of young people ages 0-24 years in our region. Learn more about UP and the Future Ready Bexar County Plan – a strategic plan to guide shared action, language, goals, metrics, and practices that drive progress – at uppartnership.org.