letstalkaboutit

We just survived another father’s day at my house. I woke up to breakfast in bed, a foot massage, and presents galore. I guess my children paid attention to me and bought me that new portable GPS navigation system that I’ve always wanted. Also both of my cars were washed and detailed and I even had a full tank of gas when I got in it to drive to the big dinner that was planned in my celebration.

Okay, now that I’m done daydreaming, none of those things happened. If you thought exactly opposite of all of those things mentioned above then you would have my day down to a tee. Not that I’m complaining. I’m very thankful for my family and the things I have. Being a father is one of the most underappreciated jobs there is. I was just explaining this fact to someone the other day. Being a father is a lot like being a sanitation worker. It’s a very much needed occupation but one of the least glamorous ones.

Being a writer, I’m always looking for things to write about, so this got me thinking. Why is it that mothers receive so much attention and thanks, yet the father’s tend to get the short end of the stick? You see tons of commercials and all types of ads in the paper around Mother’s Day, but those marketing dollars are cut in half by the big corporations when Father’s day creeps up.

I started doing some research about the father role and how it relates to American households. That’s what my original idea was about. As I searched deeper, I came across some startling information about fatherless households, particularly how it relates to African American households.

According to a very informational website that I found while searching-“It is estimated that 80 percent of all African-American children will spend part of their childhood living apart from their fathers. While an estimated seventy percent of African-American children are born to unmarried mothers and 40 percent of all children regardless of race, live in homes without fathers.

If that information doesn’t set off an alarm in the black community, then I don’t know what will. The stat that stuck with me the most was that 7 out of 10 of our African American youths will be born to unmarried mothers. As men, we need to step up and take responsibility for the future of our youth as well as our community. As a people, we will start to move once again in a positive direction when Black men stand up and take their rightful place as leaders.

Sorry to get all preachy as this is my first post on this site, but I had to say all of that to answer the Question I asked myself earlier. The truth is that in the Black community, the women have been holding it down for years by themselves. While they do the men are busy running the streets and throwing caution into the wind. It’s high time that they receive some help from the ones that they are supposed to depend on. So in my closing note I’ll give you the answer I spent so much time searching for. While there are several father’s out there that handle their business like they are supposed to, there are a lot that don’t. So, the fathers will get their much needed appreciation when we (men) as a whole give something to be appreciated for. I will take this time to recognize the ones that are being stand up men. I appreciate each and every one of you.

For more informative statistics on fatherless households, you can log onto www.daretobeking.com/fatherhood.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS