EVENT RECAP *13TH ANNUAL NATIONAL FATHERHOOD AND FAMILIES CONFERENCE

Last week I had the pleasure of attendeding the 13th Annual National Fatherood and Families Conference in Los Angeles, Ca.where I presented a wokshop for a group of people entitled “The Gift And The Curse:Understanding The Relationship Between Fatherhood and Hip Hop”  The event was presented by the Fathers and Families Coalition of America and featured events and  workshops geared toward strengthening families and honoring those in the community who have helped to create a better understanding of what needs to be done to give back and encourage our young people to live a life of positivity.

I was the host for the Red Tie/Red Dress gala that honored Father Gregory Boyle, Mr. Richard Claytor, and Cedric “The Entertainer” .  The event featured entertainment from spoken word artists Amber Love and Tye Martin and also the vocal stylings of Ms. Shanie Evans.  DJ Claudia “Brazilia” Oliveira provided the music as guests danced the night away after the awards ceremony.

On Friday morning I presented my workshop.  In the grand ballroom of the Los Angeles Westin I spoke to the crowd about the relationship between Hip Hop and Fatherhood.  This 90 minute workshop was attended by people of all ages from many different backgrounds.  I did my best to educate the attendees about how Hip Hop music and culture can be used to educate fathers and also to help find answers to some of the problems that our communities are facing when it comes to absent fathers.

Overall it was a really good event. I got to meet a lot of people who are making a difference in the world.  Each one of us has the same desire to teach people about the importance of fatherhood.  We all recognized that many of the problems in society are rooted in the breakdown of the family structure and we all did our best to come up with ways to resolve those issues.

You can click the pictures below if you would like to see a gallery of photos from the event.