The summit focused on the black male and the obstacles facing him in modern America today. There was an element of controversy when one of the panelists stated that a black woman should have been included for her point of view. The discussion turned lively on this topic because it was felt that black men should be able to talk among themselves about issues affecting black men.
When moderator Dr. Marc Lamont Hill posed the question to the group “Who Are You?” The panelists gave surprisingly similar responses. All the panelists agreed that, first and foremost, they were children of God and black men. Rev. Raphael Warnock, was the first to point out that despite the vast differences of life experiences and geographic locations, all these black men put God first in their life when describing themselves.
Dr. Hill, went on to ask the panelist a most intriguing question. This question was “who was the first black man to impact your life?” The responses once again were strikingly similar life experiences. In the cases where fathers were absent in the lives of panelists such as Killer Mike, David Banner and Chaka Zulu, they said their grandfathers stepped in to shape their life. Killer Mike (Mike Render) stated that it was his grandfather who taught him how to fish, shoot a gun, build an engine and be a good man. Killer Mike stated that his grandfather wore overalls all of his life and it taught him the value of hard work. Chaka Zulu stated similar experiences and the fact that other black men fill the void when a father was not present.