Tag: family
Our Stories, Our Strength: Honoring Family Narratives
Inspired by Family Stories Month, I’ll start where I am. I’ll tell my children what I know, what I’ve learned, and what I still hope to understand. I will remember the past and author the present — not just by celebrating what we’ve inherited, but by creating what we want to leave behind.
Our stories are our strength. Our storytelling is our legacy. And our legacy begins today.
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 Oneness of Co-Parenting
Here’s the truth I want every father and mother to hear: Your child doesn’t care about who was right. They don’t measure your love by how much you win the argument but by how well you work together for their well-being. They remember the tone of your voice when you speak about their other parent. They remember if they felt safe enough to love you both without guilt.
The oneness of co-parenting asks us to evolve — to put aside the “me” and embrace the “we.” It’s an act of maturity, faith, and courage. It requires both parents to look beyond themselves and see the divine assignment they share. You are co-creators of a life. And that life deserves wholeness, not division.
National Forgiveness Day: A Father Reflects on Healing, Redemption, and Second Chances
Forgiveness doesn’t erase pain; it transforms it. For fathers, it is not just a personal act. Forgiveness teaches our children that mistakes are not the end of love and that relationships are not defined by their worst moments, but by the courage to move beyond them.
A Fair Fatherhood, Not a Paper Fatherhood
Fathers Incorporated advocated for legitimation reform at a hearing held by the House Study Committee on Legitimation in Augusta, Georgia. Our role throughout this series of hearings has been two-fold: to bring forward fathers’ lived experience and offer workable solutions.
Georgia Legitimation Reform: Fathers Incorporated at the Columbus Hearing
Georgia’s goal should be humane and straightforward. It must ensure that when both parents want to parent, the law says “yes” quickly, safely, and consistently. And when the parents disagree, the law must sort out the “best interest” question without making children strangers to one of the two people they need most.
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 Incorporated Takes Flight with How to Train Your Dragon to Champion Fatherhood
As audiences follow Hiccup and his dragon, Toothless, on their journey toward self-discovery and peace, the film also tells another story—one of growing up, stepping back, and learning how to be present as a parent.
Valentine’s Appreciation Day: Rethinking Love Beyond Romance
We don’t talk about love for co-parents — a love that exists beyond romantic entanglement, a love that remains after the relationship fades, but responsibility doesn’t. There’s something powerful about acknowledging someone for their role in your child’s life.
The Life and Legacy of Lawrence Wilbon: A Brother’s Remembrance
Writing this feels impossible, yet necessary, because Lawrence deserves words that honor the man he was, even if they fall short of the mark. This is for you, L. This is The Death of the L.
Fathers Incorporated’s 5th Annual “Home for the Holidads” Program
Fathers Incorporated’s Home for the Holidads fills a critical gap by focusing on the children who are most affected by their parent’s absence.
The quiet after the storm
The night before, I stayed up, switching between networks, trying to listen not just to the results but to the stories behind them. Numbers don’t lie, they say.
Shattering Myths: Why Black Men’s Votes Matter in Shaping the Future
Historically, Black men have been deeply engaged in the fight for civil rights and political representation.
The World Keeps Telling Us Black Men and Boys Are Throwaways: I’m Starting to Believe We Are
There’s a dangerous and persistent narrative in society today that Black men and boys are disposable—throwaways.