Commentary

COMMENTARY: How powerful patriarchs pave the way for prospective fathers

ROLLINGOUT — You never really know how to be a father until it is your turn to lead, teach and develop your own offspring. You use the examples and experiences you’ve either observed or acquired to become the most powerful patriarch you can be.

Published

6 years ago

June 18, 2019

N. Ali Early

By N. Ali Early

When I was in high school, I often wondered how my life would play out. The thoughts were plentiful and the questions were rampant… Who will I marry? Where will I live? What will I do for a living? How many kids will I have? What gender will they be? What kind of father will I be?

As of Monday, June 10, 2019, and with the birth of my third son, Kalel Ali Early, all of those questions and more, have been answered.

Fourteen years ago I met the love of my life. Five years into a relationship that began in this publishing industry — when urban magazines were as plentiful as wheat at a local bakery — we exchanged vows and haven’t looked back since. With the birth of our first child — Khalon — we decided on settling in Atlanta and have since welcomed Keon and Kalel.

I never knew what fatherhood would truly feel like. I did, however, know what it looked like. I watched and idolized my own father, my paternal and maternal grandfathers, uncles, coaches, big homies and others who sought to pass on their wisdom.

I distinctly remember a conversation I had with my college basketball coach, about ingrown hairs of all things. It may sound simplistic, but the moment was refreshing and necessary for a 20-year-old trying with all his might to maintain a clear complexion. He talked to my friend and I like he’d been there before and during that moment, we all forgot about basketball. As I allowed his wisdom to pour into my eager ears, I accepted advice that rings true today and learned a valuable lesson rooted in patience.

You never really know how to be a father until it is your turn to lead, teach and develop your own offspring. You use the examples and experiences you’ve either observed or acquired to become the most powerful patriarch you can be. It’s an awesome responsibility that I’ve taken on and accepted fully. I respect it. I own it and I love it.

With a newborn, four-year-old and 10-year-old in tow, my journey is in full swing. Watching my children grow and change, then being able to shift gears as they do, is something I am still figuring out. That I am more than happy to share my knowledge, wisdom and experience with them, is an overwhelming understatement.

Happy Father’s Day to all the real ones out there. Be blessed and always “Be a father to your child.”

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

N. Ali Early

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

5 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.