It’s Father’s Day and for Black fathers, this day and this celebration provoke a lot of different meanings.
It’s a time when we reflect on our own experiences with our fathers, our roles as fathers and how society views us as leaders and providers of our families. The roles and the importance of Black fathers in the lives of our children have evolved and our presence has become more necessary as our children and families face different challenges like social media pressures, cellphone usage, a hostile political scene and social justice issues.
But the good news is that more Black fathers than ever before are not just in the home but more actively involved and hands-on than ever before. Our children and families need that.
In celebration of Father’s Day, the Defender examined the roles fathers and men play in their households and the community in stories such as University of Houston coach Kelvin Sampson’s love and closeness with his two kids, Damian Valentine’s strive to shape leaders through his mentor program and Black male game-changers.
In our latest episode of the Defender Roundtable, we convened a special all-men panel that includes Dr. Eric Waters of 100 Black Men and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Deric Muhammad, a Houston activist, organizer, and author, Marcus Sullivan, the operations manager at 90.9 FM KTSU and Willie Mitchell, with Black Fathers Matter.
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