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.

Breaking Barriers in Animation to Disrupt Dehumanization of LGBTQ+ BYMOC

Author: Keith F. Miller, Jr. Forward Promise Fellow Images: Powerhouse Animation Studios When I’m asked about the importance of representation, I like to lead with one question: “Name one Black, queer animated show or movie?” So far, no one has been able to name one because it doesn’t exist....

Justice is the Absence of Violence, the Presence of Healing

Authors: Kisha Bird (Forward Promise National Advisor) and Duy Pham Reposted with Permission from The Center for Law and Social Policy www.clasp.org/blog/breonna-taylor-justice-healing-policy As we have seen in the Breonna Taylor case and countless other situations, violence against Black women is normalized in our nation, and our humanity is invisible. This...

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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