By Lawton Vallely
For the Opelika
Observer
The Dream Day Foundation will be hosting the 1st annual Black Male Summit April 21 at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts.
Beginning at 8 a.m., the conference will feature local and state-wide speakers, live entertainment, and the opportunity to win various prizes. Breakfast and lunch will be provided for all attendees.
“We want to give young men that are still at an impressionable age the opportunity to not achieve only in school but to be successful and achieve in life,” said Dream Day Executive Director Marion Sankey. “To give them some alternatives to challenges that they have, to offer them some solutions, and most of all to give them a platform for their voices to be heard.”
Topics up for discussion will include bullying, the role of social media in dating, challenges related to absentee fathers and how to handle being approached by law enforcement.
Sankey said we hope to use this event as a springboard for future events with hopes of reaching a broader age range.
“We want to give these young men a voice,” Sankey said. “A lot of times the young men at this age feel like no one is listening to them and they have a lot of challenges and things they are going through. We want to hear what some of those challenges are and try to deal with those challenges or help them deal with those challenges so that they can be productive lifelong citizens.”
Admission to the summit is free but spots are limited. Registration is required and available online until April 14.
Sponsorship opportunities will also be available.
For more information on the event please call Sankey at 334-663-6638 or visit www.dreamdayblackmalesummit.com.