Mayor Paul Soglin, the Madison Common Council, and a group of community partners are hosting a meeting of community leaders and representatives at the inaugural Community Action Summit, which is part of President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Community Challenge.

The MBK Community Action Summit will be held on November 18, from 1:00-4:00 pm at United Way of Dane County, 2059 Atwood Avenue, Madison. Joining Mayor Soglin as initial local action summit partners are the Madison Common Council, 100 Black Men of Madison, United Way of Dane County, African American Council of Churches, Inc., Latino Support Network of Dane County and the African American Communication and Collaboration Council.

President Obama recently announced that more than 100 mayors, county officials and tribal nations have accepted the "My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge" designed as the next step in organizing and building upon the work of community leaders to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color in America.

The six focus areas of the My Brother’s Keeper initiative are:

• Entering school ready to learn
• Reading at grade level by third grade
• Graduating from high school ready for college and career
• Completing post-secondary education or training
• Successfully entering the workforce
• Reducing violence and provided a second chance

"I am excited to commit to the President’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative because it is an opportunity to assess our needs, improve the coordination of services and programs, and provide more opportunities for our boys and young men of color to succeed," said Mayor Soglin.

The Challenge is not a new federal program, but rather a call to action for leaders of communities across the nation to build and execute comprehensive strategies that ensure that all youth can achieve their full potential, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or the circumstances into which they are born.