![]() Lest we believe that these statistics are skewed by the fathers’ own self-reporting, other studies based on maternal reports echo these findings. Non-residential Black fathers are also the least likely to report that they’re not at all involved in the care of their children, including bathing, dressing, changing diapers, and playing with their children. The report also reveals that, among dads who don’t live with their children, Black dads are more likely to be involved in care, including reading to their children, helping them with homework, talking to them about their days, and taking them to activities, than Hispanic or white dads who live apart from their kids. First of all, marriage rates don’t necessarily reflect the number of Black fathers living with their children as writer Josh Levs points out, the majority of Black dads (2.5 million of around 4.2 million) do live with their kids, even if they’re not married to their partner.Īnd second of all, according to a 2013 report by the CDC, Black dads-whether they live with their children, or not-are more actively involved in their children’s lives than their counterparts of other races.įor example, the CDC reports that Black fathers who live with their children are more likely than fathers of other races to provide physical care (bathe, diaper, feed) for their young children, read to their children, and help their children with their homework-all on a daily basis-than fathers of other races who also cohabitate with their kids. We can not equate the number of unmarried dads to the number of “fatherless” children. The truth: Black fathers are more involved This stereotype ignores clear evidence that Black fathers are in fact more involved in their children’s care, and their lives, than fathers of other races. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.” They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. In 2008, President Barack Obama said during his Father’s Day speech that “more than half of all black children live in single-parent households… children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. (Rates of “out-of-wedlock” births have, of course, increased among all races since 1965.) The idea that racial disparities in education, employment, income, incarceration, and more can be blamed not on structural racism, but on this “absence” of black fathers has been parroted by pundits and politicians alike.Įven Black public figures have shared these statistics. Today, around 70% of Black children are born to parents who aren’t married. ![]() (The report has been roundly criticized by many race scholars.) This report claimed that increasing rates of “out-of-wedlock” births and single-mother homes among African-Americans signaled the coming destruction of Black families, and these trends were to blame for many of the issues facing the Black community in America. In 1965, white sociologist and Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a report called The Negro Family: The Case For National Action. ![]() ![]() The stereotype of Black fathers as “absent” and Black children as “fatherless”-first introduced over 50 years ago-has, like many racial stereotypes, refused to die. ![]()
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