November 19, 2014 - Mayor Madeline Rogero and other Knoxville and Knox County elected officials, community leaders, and representatives of youth-serving organizations will present the Save Our Sons (SOS) Summit from 8-11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 21 in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum Ballroom, 500 Howard H. Baker Jr. Ave.

Last year, Mayor Rogero joined with other mayors across the country in the "Cities United" initiative to eliminate violence-related deaths among African-American men and boys and to increase opportunities for their success.

Mayor Rogero also convened a local advisory group which has been meeting regularly with her to help identify the challenges that Knoxville's sons face, as well as to connect and coordinate the efforts of local stakeholders working to address those challenges. Last February, she led a delegation of these advisors to a Cities United conference on violence prevention and strategies for building safe, healthy and hopeful communities.

Under Mayor Rogero, the City of Knoxville also has accepted President Barack Obama's "My Brother's Keeper Community Challenge" to address persistent opportunity gaps and ensure that all young people can reach their full potential. Summits are being held in cities across the country to bring together key stakeholders to tackle this issue, with a special focus on boys and young men of color.

The purpose of the Save Our Sons Summit is to bring Knoxville stakeholders together to share our collective work, better understand our individual challenges, and identify key action steps to increase the overall effectiveness of our community's efforts to eliminate violence-related deaths and increase opportunities for success for our boys and young men of color.