.jpg) |
| FREDERICK DOUGLASS SITTING WITH ONE OF HIS TWO SONS |
FATHERS DAY: SERVING
AS AN EFFECTIVE AFFIRMATION AND ASPIRATION FOR THE BLACK COMMUNITY
Because the
image of the Black American male is far too often portrayed as a negative
rather than a positive in mainstream American culture the celebration of “Father’s
Day” has always served to affirm the existence of what we affectionately call a, “Good Black Man”
and the existence of a standard for traditional family values. On
father’s day we affirm that in spite of the odds cohesive and loving nuclear
families including a strong patriarchal figure have survived. Similar in theory to the “Black Power” and “Black
Is Beautiful” campaigns of the 1960’s and 1970’s civil rights movement, father’s
day, within the context of the Black American community, has always served as a
time when Black American families can celebrate the amazing contribution of the
black men who play an important role in their lives and say “We Are Not That
Negative Stereotype; We Are The Exception!”.
What we are really saying is that we are just the same, we are all the
same, we too are blessed to have wonderful fathers whom we love and revere too the same as every other human being!
 |
| SAMMY DAVIS JR. ENJOYING FAMILY LIFE WITH HIS SON |
The sobering reality
for all black men that everything ultimately comes down to race in America is certainly not a
problem of their choosing. All black
people are similarly frustrated in America whenever they are forced to take the position that
everything is subject to a different set of variables when it comes to them
due to a racial climate they did not create but must incessantly defend
against. Ultimately father’s day is no
different across races because it shares a universal reverence for manhood
blessed by fatherhood. Because the image
of Black American men is embattled on all fronts however, father’s day
necessarily takes on a more sociopolitical nuance in the black community because American society’s view of
black fatherhood has always been portrayed as an essay in systemic failure. This is why Black Americans who speak
consciously of their oppression often include in their
celebrations of accomplishment their gratitude at having overcome these omnipresent
racial barriers. To those who are not
black it must certainly appear that most socially conscious Black Americans are
obsessed with race. This is a myth which is able to take shape in the mind of those considered to be mainstream because they are not challenged to defend themselves on
every front solely on the basis of skin color. Honest and ethically sound people who react defensibly to racism are not militants or racists themselves but in a country so deeply in denial about race those who openly defend their rights against racial bias are portrayed as malcontents and dissidents because they challenge the established state of universally targeted forgetfulness. Everyone appears to agree not to deal with race unless forced in spite of the fact that it exists all around them. The simple solution to end racism is to just be honest and deal with the darned thing! Therefore I am unapologetic about my choice to represent what might otherwise be viewed as universal
issues from the perspective of a man of color since color has never ceased to
be a discriminating factor for the world in which I live… When race ceases to be a negative issue in this world then I will happily let it die but alas that is not anywhere close to the reality of contemporary human civilization... To make the equation that more difficult it is incontrovertibly true that in order for one to ever imagine themselves capable of erasing the scar of racism from the world one must themselves be free from the potent ideological curse of racism... Ideological battles are so very different yet similar in nature from physical ones. In hand to hand combat opponents might be equally matched with physical weaponry but their mental skill as warriors and even a bit of divinely inspired luck might decidedly turn the tide. Because racism is so keenly an ideological manner of warfare those who fight against it must always be certain they do not employ the same racist tactics as their adversaries! The successful battle against racism is fought with clever blows of non-racist rationale, keener, broader and more subtle in their application poised to win the war with strategic battles rather than expend itself in vain, myopic skirmishes...
.jpg) |
| W. E. B. DUBOIS AND HIS EARLY FAMILY |
Those within
the black community who do celebrate father’s day as a family event effectively help to
erase the stigma of “the missing patriarch” establishing that there is a clear
and essential relationship between the male-identified element of fatherhood and the establishment of a healthy, gender balance in the nuclear
family structure. Statistically there are
some profoundly troubling issues regarding the effective presence of the
patriarch of the black family a reality that has inspired numerous grass roots
organizations such as the Fatherhood Initiative. This does not mean that women have not been able to administer effective parenting in the absence of a patriarch but affirms the importance and effectiveness of gender-specific parenting as a shared role between father and mother as an essential variable in the development of a child's self and world view. It would be impossible to intelligently
discuss this topic without honestly examining the many factors deterring black
men from assuming a positive role in the parenting of the children they propagate. As is often the default the way our media
generates images and expectations of black men for consumption in popular
culture plays a huge role in the way black men are ultimately socialized and
view themselves as potential fathers.
However the lion’s share of the responsibility must fall upon the negligent
shoulders of the perversely ethically and morally corrupt black community itself. Black Americans cannot blame non-black
controlled media for the ruination of their family values because it promotes
the almighty dollar before sound sociocultural standards.
 |
| MARCUS GARVEY AND HIS WIFE AND THE FIRST OF TWO SONS |
Black Americans cannot blame racism for the streaming
of black males into careers of crime, drugs, illiteracy and apathy such that
they are unable to assume their patriarchal responsibilities. If the Black American community cannot see
that the solution will ultimately be realized by targeting itself as the main
problem and understand that it must galvanize itself to become an effective
infrastructure against internal deterioration then all the efforts of every
civil rights leader is wasted. No one
but the black community can reverse the substantial early-loss of its potential
patriarchs, (black male children), to the vices of this world; we alone hold the key to a working solution?
It is long overdue for the remnant of the once strong black community to take a
look at itself and thereby recognize that it has become its own worst enemy… Gone are the days of the Knights of the white camellia! Remove the white robes from the heads of our worst adversaries and beneath them
lay cloaked men and women “black as Cain” to quote Phillis Wheatley. Invoking the saying, “Begin from the beginning”,
I suggest that even if it is for one day out the year, the celebration of
fatherhood in the fractured community of Black America is a positive step in
the right direction and the challenge is to discover how to expand this homage
to fatherhood to the remaining 364 days of the year… “Let the congregation say Amen”!
 |
| BOOKER T. WASHINGTON AND HIS TWO SONS |
On this father’s
day, even if the father does not represent a text-book, mythically proportioned,
dad; paying homage to his contribution to the lives of his children and immediate
family serves to affirm that good black fathers do exist and are doing the
difficult work of fathering in a complex and erratic world that is more often
pitted against their success than not.
Family values are important core elements of a cohesive, vibrant and
dynamic culture and while in the twenty-first century we have a host of viable alternatives
to the classic patriarchal family structure there is no denying that having an
effective, loving father in the lives of his children, their mother, family and
friends plays an enormous role in the establishment of a positive cultural
image for black men and especially those who are fathers. Because the black community has thrived
through times of far greater external oppression we know that it is possible
for an internal redirection to fix missing father syndrome without the
assistance of mainstream media. That
puts the entire responsibility on the black community to overcome this
adversity as it has in the past by doing the darned thing all by itself. Therefore I say that it is not truly as great
and hopeless an issue as may seem… When I see happy families enjoying the
blessings of father’s day it means that there still exist many good fathers; yes
indeed there is much work to be done but far less than if I were to see no
affirmations of fatherhood at all… I bow
low to these esteemed men who have joined the ranks of countless fathers before
them spanning from the advent of humanity itself! Through fatherhood the critical and
primordial instructions for manhood are passed from one generation to the
next. The fathers of all humanity have
passed on mankind’s ethical and moral code-book enabling our species to survive
on this planet and in the name of all that is good and humane in this life I pray
that this continuum will never be broken and that the Black American community
will awaken and resume its global responsibility to pass down to each new
generation the glorious torch of humanity…
FIN
.jpg) |
| PRESIDENT OBAMA WITH HIS WIFE AND TWO DAUGHTERS |
Written By Bigdaddy Blues
WWW.THESTORIESOFBLACKMEN.BLOGSPOT.COMSUGGESTED LINKS:
- Julius Garvey comments on the lagacy of his father Marcus Garvey: http://www.televisionjamaica.com/Programmes/PrimeTimeNews.aspx/Videos/20220
gOBcDDQ~~60_35.JPG)
