Survival got me buggin, but I'm alive on arrival

Though I don't know why I chose to smoke sess
I guess that's the time when I'm not depressed
But I'm still depressed, and I ask what's it worth?
Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth
Who explained working hard may help you maintain
to learn to overcome the heartaches and pain
We got stickup kids, corrupt cops, and crack rocks
and stray shots, all on the block that stays hot
Leave it up to me while I be living proof
To kick the truth to the young black youth
But shorty's running wild smokin sess drinkin beer
And ain't trying to hear what I'm kickin in his ear
-Inspectah Deck, CREAM

This HipHopDX interview with M-1 of Dead Prez is speaking to me right now. I should be hitting the road (yet again) in a few hours to make my way to the planet of Brooklyn (shout to MC Lyte). I'm still trying to organize my thoughts on what exactly my primary foci will be as moderator for a panel entitled, Black Men United. The panel is one of a series of sessions at an MLK event set to take place at Polytechnic University in downtown Brooklyn (MetroTech area). I know the area and school well, having grown up visintg the neighboring courthouse, watching in awe the ill ballers back in the day at the park on Tillary, and random visits over the last eight years to NSBE events, Juniors, and Fulton Street. In another life, I think I breathed BK air. But anyways; back to the panel.

I have one hour and 25 minutes of time to manage with diplomatic precision and tact. I'm mentally preparing myself for the random a$$hole sure to show up and be more than willing to either speak over everyone or grind it out to get their points heard. I'm having flashbacks of the similar in Boston in April 2003 at the Hynes Convention Center that gave everyone in attendace headaches for days. So I think I've done enough brainstorming tonight. It would have been nice to have someone to bounce some of the other ideas off of, but I'll just save 'em for next time. This night owl thing does have its drawbacks. When everyone is wide awake, I'm in daydream mode. And at 2:23 am, everyone else is either asleep or on their way home from the club in a drunken stupor. So word; like I was saying.

I'll think have the panelists give a quick intro/bio of themselves, their background, and whatever it is they do and/or believe in. I'll also ask them to give an opening statement in which they are to identify the single biggest problem gacing Black men today and their thoughts on a solution in the form of a program , strategy, goal, or some sort of tangible objective that could be implemented to address the problem. Oftentimes, panelists want to talk and can get pretty damn verbose, so I'll give them a li'l time to get thri shine on at the outset. But then I think I'll enforce some time constraint for responses. A three-minute limit for both panelists and audience members alike. Damn, I need to find a timekeeper and a notetaker, too. I think I'll stick with three main strands as the center of the discussions - education, economics, and social justice - and then leave the last 15 minutes for the audience Q & A. Hmm. Ok I think I'm done. Time to pack.