I attended the AT&T 28 Days program in Raleigh, NC last night. Common was the host and Kevin Powell was the speaker. Raleigh's own Brian Dawson from K97.5 was the DJ.
The program was AWESOME! Kevin Powell was great (although my picture taking is bad). Some of the points that hit closest to home are:
- Speak to people. Get to know people. That really struck me because I remember my first day of freshman year on Hamptons' campus. My mom got me all set up and went back to MD. She of course called that night to see how I was doing and how things were going and I said "It's so weird. Everyone here speaks to you when they pass you. It's not like at home." Looking back, it's so insane that I was taken aback. But the reality is that I was. Now, I'm as social as a butterfly and not only in my circle. So I can cosign that. Speak to people. Build relationships and be genuine.
- Education is important. Read and Learn. You don't have to be in school to learn. You can be on twitter, facebook, and cell phones, but balance it with books. Learn about your history. Also, pass it on to the youth.
- Mentor. Help. Contribute. Mentor kids. Volunteer in at a shelter. Just help and give back.
- Protest and Activate. Well, participate in activism. Make your voice matter. Got a problem? Work to fix it. Kevin (yeah we're friends now), spoke about how people come to his twitter and facebook page and wild out. They have things that they want to get off their chest, but they don't want to do it on their page or a blog of their own. Got something to say? Blog.
- Lastly, a lesson that I'd like to pass on from this program is that these two men are F-I-N-E. It's ok. We can pass on the power while observing the sexy. Whew.
It was wonderful seeing them. At the end, Common kicked a freestyle for us. Please catch the AT&T 28 Days series if it comes to your town. If not, watch the telecast. Take as many youth with you as possible. You wont regret it.
Has anyone else gone to this program in their city? Will you check out future dates.
