National

Myth of the ‘Absent’ Black Dad Refuted

Published

10 years ago

May 19, 2015

By Jazelle Hunt
NNPA Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Contrary to the myth, though Black men are more likely to live apart from their children than Whites, they are more involved in the lives of their children than Whites and Hispanics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study.

The report covers a sample of sample of 10,403 men aged 15–44 years from 2006-2010.

It is true that Black dads are more likely to live apart from their children; the Pew Research Center reports that 44 percent do. However, Pew also found that 67 percent of Black fathers who don’t live with their children see them at least once a month, compared to 69 percent of White dads and 32 percent of Latino dads who don’t live with their children.

Among fathers who resided with their kids, African American dads were more involved in their children’s lives.

In the survey, fathers rated how often they performed certain activities with any or all of their children over the previous four weeks. Black fathers were most likely to bathe, dress, diaper, or help their children use the toilet on a daily basis. This was true for 70 percent of Black dads who lived with their children, compared with 60 percent of White dads and 45 percent of Latino dads.

Although few fathers outside the home could say they did this every day (across race), but Black dads were the top hygiene helpers (12 percent, compared to 6 percent for Whites and 7 percent for Latinos).

According to a similar report from the Pew Research Center, 62 percent of all Black fathers read to their children at least several times per week. Black dads in the CDC survey who didn’t live with their children were more than twice as likely as their White counterparts to host story time every day.

These same “absent” Black dads were significantly the most likely to talk to their school-age children about their day – more than 50 percent reported having done so several times per week or more, compared to 34 percent of absent White dads and 23 percent of absent Latino fathers.

But critics from President Obama on the left to Fox News on the right have been unstinting in their criticism of Black males absent from the home. However, their criticism invariably overlooks the extent of their involvement revealed by the CDC report.

As recently as last week, President Obama defended what some consider his talking down to Black audiences.

At a panel discussion on poverty at Georgetown University, Obama said: “It’s true that if I’m giving a commencement at Morehouse [College] that I will have a conversation with young Black men about taking responsibility as fathers that I probably will not have with the women of Barnard. And I make no apologies for that. And the reason is because I am a Black man who grew up without a father and I know the cost that I paid for that.”

According to CDC, Black patriarchs are the likeliest of all men to be stay-at-home dads (13 percent of Black dads who live with their children are), while 29 percent of Black fathers are single heads of their households.

Black marriage (or a lack thereof) is closely related to the absent Black father story, and it too brings its own misconceptions. It is true that Black families are least likely of all races to be led by a married couple; Pew data asserts that 72 percent of Black fathers have a child or children out of wedlock, and only 36 percent are married to the mother of their children. Cohabitation, co-parenting, single parenting, and blended or extended families have always been more common in the Black community than among other races.

But in the CDC study, cohabiting and single fathers of all races either outperformed or held their own in raising their children when compared to married fathers. The data suggests that cohabitation or co-parenting isn’t necessarily a weaker family structure, nor does it necessarily result in poor paternal involvement.

“While more than one-quarter (27 percent) of fathers are living apart from their children 18 or younger, there is a huge variation in the type of involvement that these – non-co-resident fathers have with their children,” a 2011 Pew report reads.

“On one end of the spectrum, almost one- fifth (18 percent) report only occasional contacts with their children, and no visits in over a year. At the other end of the spectrum are the 14 percent of fathers who live apart from their children but report still seeing them several times a week, and talking with or emailing them several times a week, as well.”

The percentage of kids living apart from their fathers has more than doubled in the past 50 years, according to Pew, but absent no longer means uninvolved. And in some cases, absent Black fathers are the most involved of all.

Even Obama has sounded a note of optimism, saying at Georgetown: “And I also know that I have the capacity to break that cycle, and as a consequence, I think my daughters are better off. And that is not something that — for me to have that conversation does not negate my conversation about the need for early childhood education, or the need for job training, or the need for greater investment in infrastructure, or jobs in low-income communities.”

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Activism

‘Resist’ a Look at Black Activism in U.S. Through the Eyes of a Native Nigerian

In 1995, after she and her brothers traveled from their native Nigeria to join their mother at her new home in the South Bronx, young Omokha’s eyes were opened. She quickly understood that the color of her skin – which was “synonymous with endless striving and a pursuit of excellence” in Nigeria – was “so problematic in America.”

Published

17 hours ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Cover of “Resist! How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America.” Courtesy image.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez

Throughout history, when decisions were needed, the answer has often been “no.”

‘No,’ certain people don’t get the same education as others. ‘No,’ there is no such thing as equality. ‘No,’ voting can be denied and ‘no,’ the laws are different, depending on the color of one’s skin. And in the new book, “Resist!” by Rita Omokha, ‘no,’ there is not an obedient acceptance of those things.

That became a bigger matter to Omokha later, 15 years after her brother was deported: she “saw” him in George Floyd, and it shook her. Troubled, she traveled to America on a “pilgrimage for understanding [her] Blackness…” She began to think about the “Black young people across America” who hadn’t been or wouldn’t be quiet about racism any longer.

She starts this collection of stories with Ella Josephine Baker, whose parents and grandparents modeled activism and who, because of her own student activism, would be “crowned the mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” Baker, in fact, was the woman who formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, in 1960.

Nine teenagers, known as the Scottsboro Nine were wrongly arrested for raping two white women in 1931 and were all released, thanks to the determination of white lawyer-allies who were affiliated with the International Labor Defense and the outrage of students on campuses around America.

Students refused to let a “Gentleman’s Agreement” pass when it came to sports and equality in 1940. Barbara Johns demanded equal education under the law in Virginia in 1951. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966. And after Trayvon Martin (2012) and George Floyd (2020) were killed, students used the internet as a new form of fighting for justice.

No doubt, by now, you’ve read a lot of books about activism. There are many of them out there, and they’re pretty hard to miss. With that in mind, there are reasons not to miss “Resist!”

You’ll find the main one by looking between the lines and in each chapter’s opening.

There, Omokha weaves her personal story in with that of activists at different times through the decades, matching her experiences with history and making the whole timeline even more relevant.

In doing so, the point of view she offers – that of a woman who wasn’t totally raised in an atmosphere filled with racism, who wasn’t immersed in it her whole life – lets these historical accounts land with more impact.

This book is for people who love history or a good, short biography, but it’s also excellent reading for anyone who sees a need for protest or action and questions the status quo. If that’s the case, then “Resist!” may be the answer.

“Resist! How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America” by Rita Omokha, c.2024, St. Martin’s Press. $29.00

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Black History

Pioneering NASA Physicist George Alcorn Revolutionized Imaging Technology and STEM Education

Born in Indianapolis in 1940, George Alcorn’s scientific curiosity was sparked early on by his father, an automobile mechanic. “I was a very fortunate boy, in that my hero was my daddy,” George once shared with the National Inventors Hall of Fame®. “I thought that what my father was doing was science.” Together, the pair spent hours tinkering with car engines, setting the stage for Alcorn’s future in STEM.

Published

17 hours ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Portrait of George Edward Alcorn Jr. Debbie McCallum. Public domain image.

By Tamara Shiloh

George Alcorn was a trailblazing physicist and engineer whose groundbreaking inventions transformed aerospace technology and imaging devices. Best known for his creation of the X-ray imaging spectrometer, Alcorn’s work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) not only advanced space exploration but also reshaped the scientific community’s understanding of deep space phenomena.

Born in Indianapolis in 1940, Alcorn’s scientific curiosity was sparked early on by his father, an automobile mechanic. “I was a very fortunate boy, in that my hero was my daddy,” George once shared with the National Inventors Hall of Fame®. “I thought that what my father was doing was science.” Together, the pair spent hours tinkering with car engines, setting the stage for Alcorn’s future in STEM.

That foundation propelled him through an impressive academic journey. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from Occidental College in 1962, he pursued graduate studies at Howard University, where he received a master’s degree in 1963 and a doctorate in atomic and molecular physics in 1967.

Alcorn began his career in private industry, working at IBM on high-performance semiconductor devices. In 1978, he joined NASA GSFC, where his contributions revolutionized imaging technology and space exploration.

In 1982, he invented the X-ray imaging spectrometer, a device that allowed scientists to more accurately detect and analyze elemental and chemical components. The innovation earned him the title of 1984 NASA GSFC Inventor of the Year. This spectrometer has since been used in planetary mapping, star charting, and deep space exploration, and its descendants continue to shape modern imaging technologies.

Beyond his spectrometer, Alcorn contributed to the development of the Freedom Space Station in collaboration with international agencies and invented the Airborne LIDAR Topographic Mapping System (ALTMS). ALTMS uses light to analyze Earth’s surface and has become integral to data collection for environmental studies and drone technology.

Alongside his technical achievements, Alcorn was a passionate educator. He taught physics and engineering at Howard University and mentored underrepresented doctoral candidates at the University of the District of Columbia. Recognizing the importance of engaging students early, he co-founded the Saturday Academy, a weekend program aimed at inspiring inner-city middle schoolers in Washington, D.C., to develop an interest in math and science.

“I believe it’s so important to start learning and enjoying learning as young as possible,” Alcorn said. “It gives children even more of an advantage.”

Alcorn’s contributions earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Robert H. Goddard Award of Merit from NASA GSFC in 2010 and the Alumni Seal Award for Professional Achievement from Occidental College in 2012.

Reflecting on his work, Alcorn remarked, “If you have a good, interesting project, work is not coming to work – it’s coming to an adventure.”

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Alameda County

Barbara Lee Releases Statement on Possible Run for Mayor of Oakland

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17. At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Published

18 hours ago

December 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Courtesy photo, Office of Rep. Barbara Lee.

By Ken Epstein

Questions continue to swirl in Oakland and throughout the Bay Area over the possibility that Congresswoman Barbara Lee might run for mayor of Oakland after she leaves Congress in January.

Already, her backers are organizing to urge her to run for the position left vacant by the recall of former Mayor Sheng Thao, which became effective on Dec. 17.

At present, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is serving temporarily as mayor.

Lee is already meeting with city leaders and learning more about the major issues facing the city. In a social media post on Dec. 20, she released a statement clarifying her timeline for making a decision.

“The decision to run for Mayor of Oakland, a city that I have long called home, is not one I take lightly,” she said.

“As my time in Congress wraps up, my current priority is navigating the crisis before us in DC. I am working around the clock to reach a deal that will keep our government open and provide crucial resources for my district,” she continued.

“I will announce my intentions in early January,” Congresswoman Lee said.