The mission of the Dare to Be King Project, LLC (DTBK) is to inspire, support, and strengthen organizations that provide services to boys and men of color. Our goal is to engage boys and men of color in four areas: academic success and growth, emotional development, healthy notions of manhood/masculinity and familial reconciliation.
DTBK seeks to expand its network by focusing on two key areas:
1) Provide professional development, best practices and other resources to support and strengthen organizations working with boys of color;
2) Provide organizations with tools (curricula materials, books, and training modules) to ensure that boys of color receive life skills training and strategies to support academic achievement.
HISTORY
In 1999, David Miller received the prestigious Open Society Foundation’s Community Fellowship Award to research and design a curriculum to engage young, Black males. The fellowship, founded by George Soros (affluent philanthropist), was created to promote social entrepreneurship and community change. The Dare to Be King curriculum was published in 2003 as an innovative project focusing on teaching and training in the area of Black, urban life and survival skills.
In 2014, the curriculum was revised to enhance efforts working with boys of color around life/survival skill development.
As a result of the fellowship, Mr. Miller co-founded the Urban Leadership Institute (ULI), a consulting firm specializing in youth development. ULI leveraged the success of the Dare to Be King curriculum in 2003 to build a nationally recognized firm respected among community-based organizations, schools, and faith-based organizations.
For 11 years, ULI developed an impressive list of partners (grassroots, philanthropic, state, and federal) focused on working with urban youth.
In 2014, Miller and his team created Dare to Be King Project, LLC to create greater energy and support to advance organizations and practices focused on impacting boys of color.
*Our latest edition of the Dare to Be King curriculum was launched on February 10, 2014. It offers 52 weeks of life and survival skills for young males.