Community

Black Men Challenge Narratives About Black Fatherhood

WASHINGTON INFORMER — As Father’s Day approaches, the conversation among some Black fathers in the District has focused on how best to counter the barrage of messages that frame them as negligent, despite recent data that proves otherwise. In the spirit of meeting that goal, upcoming community gatherings will serve as celebratory platforms to examine the social and emotional hurdles that many Black men have overcome in becoming a permanent fixture in their families.

Published

5 years ago

June 13, 2019

Sam P. K. Collins

By Sam P. K. Collins

As Father’s Day approaches, the conversation among some Black fathers in the District has focused on how best to counter the barrage of messages that frame them as negligent, despite recent data that proves otherwise.

In the spirit of meeting that goal, upcoming community gatherings will serve as celebratory platforms to examine the social and emotional hurdles that many Black men have overcome in becoming a permanent fixture in their families.

For one such father, Antonio Beard, providing an example for his 5-year-old son and three older stepchildren has been his greatest achievement.

“I couldn’t allow what was happening with my son’s mother affect my situation with him,” said Beard, a Ward 7 resident and co-founder of the Lead by Example Foundation, co-sponsor of a Father’s Day Sip-and-Paint event taking place on Saturday afternoon at Fort Dupont Stoddert Community Center in Southeast, courtesy of ANC Commissioner Brittany Hughes (SMD 7F05). “Sometimes you both might not be the best fit, but your child should be your main focus.”

Beard said the pain of not having his father around compelled him to instill good values in and share special moments with his children, including morning pep talks, baseball games and trips to his job.

“One thing I learned is that you’re good as long as you spend time,” he said. ” It’s challenging, but something I like to do.”

Beard and other local fathers fit the profile of Black men highlighted in a 2013 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing members of that demographic, whether in a nuclear family or as a co-parent, having more of a presence in the lives of their young ones, compared to their racial counterparts.

On Sunday, some of these fathers, stepfathers and grandfathers plan to take over the U Street corridor in a march against negative stereotypes during an event hosted by Kristi Love Events, DCity Smokehouse and We Act Radio.

Community advocates say that fallacies about Black male parenting often stem from a misunderstanding of social structures within Black communities that have been precipitated by mass incarceration. For instance, data shows that while 1.7 million Black men don’t live with their children, nearly 2.5 million Black men share the same address as their offspring, often cohabitating with their unmarried partner in what’s been called “shotgun pregnancies.”

During the last decade, that type of living arrangement surpassed shotgun marriages, according to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. In many cases, co-parents don’t legally marry, often making the term “single mother” synonymous with absent father, when that might not even be the case.

Since the turn of the century, organizations in the D.C. metropolitan area such as The 100 Fathers Inc. have taken the mantle in celebrating fathers, and connecting upstanding Black men with children lacking a positive male presence.

Upcoming events such as the Fatherhood Legislative Summit at the Mayors Conference Center in Northwest on Friday, a field day at the Marvin Gaye Recreation Center on Saturday, and an award ceremony at Union Temple Baptist Church on Sunday build upon The 100 Fathers Inc.’s previous collaborations with the Nation of Islam and Alliance of Concerned Men to engage fatherless youth and show new fathers how to lead their home.

“Because we often didn’t advocate for ourselves, we had to take whatever was given to us as far as the societal look on fathers and Black men,” Franklyn Malone, CEO and president of The 100 Fathers, Inc., said in his indictment of governmental and nonprofit organizations he said haven’t straightened the record about Black fathers.

“People don’t know the real facts about Black fathers, or provided spaces or them to flourish,” said Malone, a father of four. “When you go on the Department of Health website, you don’t see fathers. We are part of the families. There’s very little mention of the father and that’s the problem.

“The family unit is the most important for the Black family,” he said. “We need to work together to save our children.”

For some Black fathers, saving their children and families requires a level of emotional availability they’ve been conditioned to suppress. Relationship experts say unresolved childhood trauma and misleading messages from family members, peers and family members about how to express Black masculinity hinders some Black men’s ability to form healthy, open relationships.

During its “Men Hurt Too Conference: Celebrating Men Survivor Stories” event, scheduled to take place Saturday afternoon at the Deanwood Community Center in Northeast, local nonprofit Domestic Violence Wear Many Tags (DVWMT) will feature Black men who overcame the shame of victimhood in abusive relationships with their mothers and significant others.

DVWMT founder QueenAfi said the event, part of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, will aid in attempts to broaden the conversation about domestic violence and allow Black men to share their feelings without pushback.

“A lot of men don’t know how to show their emotions,” QueenAfi said. “When they do, it comes off in a way that the other person might not understand. We have to start providing men a place to share their feelings. It’s something they truly need to be emotionally well. They must be able to share in a safe space without feeling judged.”

This article originally appeared in the Washington Informer.

Sam P. K. Collins

Posts by Sam P. K. Collins

Up Next

From Food Desert to Oasis

Don't Miss

Mendelson, DeWitt Caught Up in Budget Battle

Sam P. K. Collins

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

5 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

16 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Community

For Cervical Cancer Month, Medical Community Focused on Education

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable. Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Published

17 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S. 2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

By Magaly Muñoz

January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

Physicians, advocates and others in the medical community commemorated the month by raising awareness about a form of cancer they say is highly preventable and treatable.

Cervical cancer is caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV) and it develops slowly over time but can be prevented with proper care in girls as young as 13 years old.

Sonia Ordonez, an OBGYN and gynecology surgeon at Kaiser Permanente, stated that as soon as people with cervixes reach the maturity reproductive age, they should start taking preventative measures like getting the HPV vaccine. The vaccine involves a series of two-doses for people aged 9 through 14 or three-doses for people 15 through 45 years old.

“I see a lot of young women who can’t remember or may not have gotten [the vaccine] when they were younger, or maybe got one, but we can give them the series of vaccines and restart at any point in time,” Ordonez said.

She said that cervical cancer is not the only cancer caused by HPV. Strains of the virus can also lead to throat, anal and penile cancers.

Screening is also an effective way to check for cervical cancer and should be done every three years after someone turns 21, doctors recommend. It is best to start as early as possible to catch occurrences early.

Ordonez said that this cancer is also more likely found in people of color and has led to more deaths overall.

A Mayo Clinic article published last month stated that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed and die of cervical cancer, compared to White women in the U.S.

2,000 Black women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer and 40% die as a result.

“This disparity is not due to genetic differences among White, Black or Hispanic women, but rather related to systemic racism, access to healthcare and socioeconomic factors,” Dr. Olivia Cardenas-Trowers, a Mayo Clinic urogynecologist, said in the article.

Ordonez stated that immigrant women are also highly susceptible to the cancer, as many Latin American countries may not have accessibility to screenings or lack of insurance makes it harder for them to get tested.

Hispanic women are 40% more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 30% more likely to die from it, as compared to non-Hispanic White women, according to the Office of Minority Health.

Family medicine physician, Joy Anyanwu, stated that the pandemic contributed to hesitancy about getting cervical cancer screenings among some women. Other factors are people’s aversion to vaccines, parents not wanting to believe that their children are or will become sexually active, and doubt about the overall effectiveness of the vaccine.

“The vaccine is very safe — over 97% effective in preventing cervical cancer,” Anyanwu said. “Even if you aren’t having sex, the earlier you start would actually help.”

Anyanwu said she understands that parents might not want to ask questions about their children’s reproductive health, but it’s a mindset that can be a barrier to having important conversation about prevention or care.

To keep families their families and communties healthy, the doctor emphasized that people should prioritize keeping up with their vaccine series and going to screenings every year.