Promoting the health of boys & young men
of color

Forward Promise is a national program that seeks to build and strengthen the villages that raise and empower boys and young men of color to heal, grow and thrive.

The Way Forward: A Webcast Series

This five-part series confirms the concept of dehumanization as the foundation for systemic racism and racial trauma. Experts discuss what dehumanization looks like and how we can disrupt it for boys and young men of color.

Healing Work

Healing Work: An Action Guide to Equitable Grantmaking Supporting Youth of Color outlines an intentional equity approach that helps grant makers make their work more equitable.

About Forward Promise

If it takes a village to raise a child, what does it take to strengthen, stimulate and create healthy villages? The Forward Promise National Program Office works to support the networks and relationships that surround boys and young men of color (BYMOC) and counter the effects of historical and contemporary trauma in America.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, having invested five years in building the Forward Promise model, now charges the Forward Promise National Program Office (NPO) with the responsibility of building a culture of health model for BYMOC, as an independent initiative, in collaboration with many other leaders in the field. The NPO will facilitate grants to non-profits, provide technical assistance and field-building support and disseminate timely research to those seeking to positively impact the lives of boys and young men of color.

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I am Human

Ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up and they will likely give you a list. Their dreams are boundless and they derive genuine excitement from planning their future. They believe they have a future of their own choosing.

As boys and young men of color (BYMOC) get older, many lose the sense of the possible. The dehumanization they and their villages face make hoping frivolous when survival becomes the goal.

An Ode to the Long Walker, Congressman John Lewis

Kelli Dulan, Director of Leadership and Learning A hero now rests. Congressman John Lewis was laid to rest on Thursday, July 30, in the Southern soil where he so valiantly fought and won many battles for social justice. To borrow a phrase from our brothers at National Compadres Network, Congressman...

One Eye Open: The Health Crisis of Racial Vigilance for Boys and Young Men of Color

Protests around the world are calling for change but will this change impact the well-being of our children, friends, and communities? Don’t hold your breath. In 2013, my 8 year old son and I were folding clothes while the TV was on. He became glued to the TV as Trayvon Martin’s...

Reflections on Teacher Appreciation Week from Krishaun Branch, Urban Prep Graduate and Recruiter

As teacher appreciation week comes to a close, Forward Promise National Advisory Committee member, Krishaun Branch, shares his reflections on the value of education and the influence of having black male educators as mentors. Krishaun graduated from Urban Prep Academy, an all-male Black high school in Chicago, Illinois, and was...

La Plazita Institute

As in the desert that surrounds this city, it seems almost all living happens at dusk. The sun throws rose-colored light on the Sandia Mountains, the pale houses empty, and the sidewalks fill. Above, the skies look brush-stroked and extravagant, and a breeze comes, as if it had been hiding...

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