Category: Black Fatherhood
The Birth Crisis We Can Change: Fathers as Partners in Black Maternal Health
The responsible fatherhood field has spent decades teaching men how to show up after the birth. But Black maternal health demands we teach men how to show up before it, during it, and long after the hospital bracelets come off.
It starts with learning, being present, speaking up when necessary, and building a partnership strong enough to hold the weight of a family’s most precious and vulnerable hours.
Reclaiming the Narrative of Black Fatherhood
What we need now isn’t another study, stereotype, or headline. We need space for honest conversations across generations, households, and experiences. We need to celebrate the fathers doing the work and support the ones who are still fighting to get there.
We need to reclaim our narrative not as a rebuttal, but as a declaration. Black fatherhood has never needed saving. It has only needed witnessing.
Traditional and Cultural Adoptions: Critical Differences — and the Need for Both
Adoption, in its truest sense, has never been about legality alone. In many communities, it has always been about love, obligation, and survival. Long before there were state agencies or social service departments, there was a cultural system — neighbors taking in children after tragedy, grandparents raising grandchildren, aunts and uncles becoming stand-in parents when life took unexpected turns.
To truly understand adoption in America, and to strengthen the systems that govern it, we must hold space for both traditional and cultural adoption.
The Child Support System Needs a Villain (Part 1)
For any system to present itself as powerful, righteous, or heroic, it must have an opposing threat. For child support, that’s not systemic inequity or structural poverty; it’s fathers cast as deadbeats. As absentees. As villains with faulty moral compasses. And once that narrative is set, everything else follows.
5 Critical Policy Changes to Remove Legal and Economic Barriers Faced by Black Fathers
We believe – and it’s supported by the “Breaking the Chains” report – that Black fathers are fighting to stay involved with their children even while contending with barriers that many never face. Some of the most important support we can provide involves not only helping fathers navigate the hurdles but eliminating them from the path for fathers now and in the future. The reforms and policy directives outlined above move us in that direction.
The Maze of Fatherhood: Why Georgia Must Reform Legitimation Now
In Georgia, a child born to unmarried parents is not automatically granted the legal right to both parents. While this may come as a surprise to many, to the thousands of fathers served by Fathers Incorporated, it’s a harsh and often heartbreaking reality.
Op-Ed: Empowering Black Men — Reclaiming Our Health, Rewriting Our Legacy
How many aspects of our lives could drastically improve with just a few minutes of intentional care daily? This revelation prompted me to emphasize one critical truth: “Not taking care of yourself, particularly when you have children and family, is the most selfish act you can engage in.”
Where’s Dad? Rethinking Absence, Accountability, and Access
Yet, the truth behind father absence is multifaceted, woven intricately through voluntary choices, systemic barriers, trauma, and deeply entrenched societal narratives.
Fathers in the Shadows: The Invisible Work of Showing Up Anyway
Not all father absence is abandonment. Sometimes, it’s the result of systems, silencing, or survival. And those nuances matter.
Gratitude for the Viral Coverage of Our Fatherhood Program Graduation
This viral moment, which reached nearly 4 million potential impressions when we shared it on social media, but has since topped 9.7 million, didn’t happen overnight. It results from 20 years of unwavering commitment, love, and labor poured into the lives of fathers and families across Metro Atlanta and beyond.
Why Are We Coming for LeBron and Bronny? The Hypocrisy of Black Fatherhood in America
LeBron James is a father before he is a basketball player, before he is a businessman, and before he is a global icon. And like any father, when you come for his child, you will get a response.
The Vanishing Act: Why Black Fathers in Media Still Seem Like Ghosts
Despite research showing that Black fathers spend as much (if not more) time with their children than fathers of other races, they are still more likely to be portrayed in media as absent, uninvolved, or, at best, comedic.
Do Parents Have a Favorite Child? The Truth About Black Fathers and Their Daughters
by Kenneth Braswell, CEO, Fathers Incorporated There are moments in parenthood when our children challenge our perceptions, forcing us to confront truths we might otherwise ignore. In […]
Black Fathers On the Front Lines of Civil Rights Advocacy
Throughout history, Black fathers have been unsung heroes in the struggle for civil rights. Though often overshadowed, their contributions have been critical to dismantling systemic barriers and forging a brighter future for their children and communities. These men didn’t wait for the perfect conditions to act — they saw a need and stepped into the breach, wielding love, sacrifice, and determination as tools.
How Companies Depict Black Fathers in TV Commercials
Researchers from the Moynihan Institute for Fatherhood Research and Policy are hosting a critically important webinar: “Can You See Me Now? A Closer Examination of Black Fathers in Television Commercials.” A must-attend event for anyone interested in media representation of Black fathers and families, the presentation is based on Moynihan Institute’s qualitative study measuring attitudes and reflections about Black fathers in television commercials.