Brothers at Bard

Supporting young men of color
in high school, college, and beyond.

Brothers at Bard (BAB) is actively changing the narrative for young men of color. Through comprehensive mentorship and leadership development, BAB taps into the unique potential of male collegians of color, promoting their ability to provide support and guidance to each other and their high school peers. Ultimately, BAB encourages male collegians of color to “pay it forward,” extending socio-emotional support and empowerment to their high school peers.

Our Objectives

Brotherhood - Empowerment - Achievement

Provide Access to Positive Male Role Models of Color in spaces that often lack such representation.
Create Safe Spaces in traditionally exclusive and social-emotionally unsafe environments.
Establish Experience as a Form of Authority to promote self-exploration, social-emotional development, and tap into underutilized voices to inform institutional policy, practice and procedure.
Increase Exposure to New Environments as a means to build perspective, promote higher education, and investment in one’s own future.

Our Work

In the Community

Brothers at Bard in Kingston, New York

Each year, BAB works with approximately 20 students in grades 9–12 at Kingston High School in Kingston, New York. Ten BAB members from the on-campus group become mentors to the high schoolers in the program. All BAB members who volunteer for the program receive extensive training prior to becoming mentors. Mentees are frequently exposed to Bard College’s campus through events coordinated for them by BAB mentors.

On Campus

Brothers at Bard mentors become a tight-knit community, encouraging each other as they navigate life at Bard and pursue their scholarly, extracurricular, and professional goals. The brotherhood forged through meaningful work is used as a vehicle to provide vital social emotional support for men of color at Bard.

BAB Mentor Four-Year Graduation Rate: 90%

National Coalition

Brothers at Bard is active in the national conversation about educational opportunities and support for students with limited resources. BAB is laying the groundwork for a new scalable initiative that is changing the narrative for young men of color through a unique partnership between colleges and public high schools. If you are leading a club on a college campus that supports men of color, or a volunteer initiative aimed at lifting up young men of color in secondary schools, we want to hear from you.

Leadership

Dariel Vasquez '17

Brothers at Bard Founder and Director
Bard Early College Fellowship Initiative Program Manager

Dariel Vasquez is a first-generation college graduate from Harlem, NY. Dariel graduated from Bard College (Class of 2017) with a joint degree in History and Sociology, and a concentration in Africana-Studies. Youth development and mentorship is Dariel’s passion, and he’s been designing programming and facilitating youth engagement workshops since he was 16 years old. His first year at Bard, Dariel created the Brothers At Bard (BAB) support group with the help of his peers—laying the foundation for the work the organization does today. Dariel received a grant from the New York State My Brothers Keeper Initiative upon graduating at 21, allowing him to continue building Brothers At Bard full-time as the Executive Director for a year. That same year, Dariel also became the Program Manager for the JP Morgan Chase Fellowship Initiative (TFI)—responsible for managing, designing, and supervising the academic partnership between TFI and the Bard Early Colleges.

As one of the Brothers@ co-founders, Dariel helped raise over half a million dollars over the last three years to expand the organization. Growing up in public housing projects and being raised by immigrant parents, Dariel considered the possibilities a proper education could provide to be the only viable way for him to help his family out of poverty. Having witnessed his childhood friends make decisions that negatively impacted their lives because they lacked positive role models and support, Dariel’s passion is fueled by his desire to become the kind of mentor his peers never had. Dariel’s career goal is to expand on the work he’s currently doing and create a nation-wide mentorship and college readiness and retention program for young men of color from underserved communities.

Email Dariel Vasquez

Durante Barringer '14

Director of Programs, Brothers at Bard

Durante Barringer '14 oversees all programs for Brothers@ which includes their flagship program with the Kingston City School District, their newest partnership with JP Morgan Chase & Co. and the Teaching Fellow Initiative in New York City. Additionally, Durante manages and provides professional development for program coordinators and other
employees. Additionally, Durante creates and systematizes procedures, protocols, and curricula forall programmatic initiatives. Durante also plays a key role in grant reporting, data management, and writing for the Brothers@ organization.

Previously an educator at Atlanta Public Schools, Durante has taught secondary History in Boston, MA, where he also earned his Master’s in secondary education from Boston College and served as an AmeriCorps volunteer for a number of years.

Durante attended Bard College and earned a B.A. in Political Studies. While at Bard he led numerous initiatives that addressed racial disparities on campus. Additionally, Durante earned an advanced certificate of study in International Studies from Bard’s Globalization and International Affairs program in New York City.

Email Durante Barringer

Mentorship Retreat

"On the Frost Valley trip [retreat], I learned so much, not only about life out of school, but about myself. I learned that I was afraid of heights. I also learned that my brothers had my back even when I was scared, so I was able to face my fears with their help.” —BAB Mentee

BAB summers are jam packed! Last May, we held our annual retreat at the Frost Valley YMCA Retreat Center. With no access to cell service, or WiFi, our mentees and mentors had the opportunity to truly disconnect from life back home. Three days in the woods coupled with a number of experiential workshops focused on uncovering motivations, fears, and ambitions allowed us to build on the bonds we create throughout the school year.

BAB–BOND Young Men of Color Conference

In April 2018, Brothers at Bard held its fourth annual BAB–BOND Young Men of Color Conference. Over the past four years, we have partnered with Brothers On a New Direction (BOND), a brotherhood program based at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem, New York, to host a conference in which our mentees had the chance to connect with young men from New York City who share similar life experiences. The young men participated in a number of large group discussions. BAB mentors spoke about their unique journeys to and through college during a panel focused on empowering the participants to make positive choices in their lives and communities.

Alumni Gathering

This past October, Brothers at Bard held its first annual alumni gathering. Former BAB mentors, tutors and Bard College alumni came back to campus to meet with current BAB members. Conversations were centered on the transition out of life as an undergraduate and healthy approaches to fostering personal growth during such an ambiguous time in life. We want to thank the wonderful alumni who took time out of their busy schedules and contributed to these amazing conversations.