Father’s Day Rally Committee has plan for cutting dropout rate

Philadelphia’s Father’s Day Rally Committee, a volunteer group of African-American males, has released an action plan to keep black men working and out of the justice system.  

“The number one cause of death for black men under 35 is homicide, and it’s about the fact that we are killing ourselves,” said District Attorney Seth Williams.  The DA was just one of seveal dozen who joined together to put together the action plan, called The Agenda.

Bilal Qayyum heads up the group. He said it includes providing entrepreneur mentors and working to cut the high school dropout rate for African American males in Philadelphia which is over 40 percent.

“We have had a rich history in this city of when we are in crisis of organizing and have developed programs and initiatives to solve our problems,” said Qayyum.

Mayor Michael Nutter said the group is seeking tangible results.

“More African American males graduating from high school, more African American males going to college, more African American Males working at construction sites,” said Nutter.

 

The group said the report is a start. It vows to evaluate how the plan is working within a year.