Revealing the Lives of Black Fathers

Really sweet, really enjoyed these photos. Please keep the positive realism coming.

Love this. Made me giggle, smile and brought a tear to my eye. Read “The Times” daily but it has been a difficult road these past few years...

Love this! “To be both black and a father, is to be seen by much of the world through a haze of stereotypes and half-truths; to be damned by the faint praise of people who expect so little that merely showing up is regarded as a minor miracle.” This spoke directly to me. Thank you for this article. For putting a face on who we are: human. Like everyone else.

These heart-warming pictures help re-write the narrative for black fathers. Thank you! AND I what to know about the trauma-informed curricula that support black fathers as they break the old tropes... Is there a national Fathers network for men recovering from having their own dad incarcerated? For hundreds of years, disenfranchised fathers have been incarcerated for being freedom fighters, or for trying to feed their families the only way they knew how. Is there a inter-generational mentoring program for men who must learn how to be a firm and loving support for strong black women and children with lethal challenges in adolescence? Where are the grants, federal programs, Masters degrees, foundations and ministries?

Very nice; more stories like this please!!

Thank you for this post and the amazing pictures. Reading it brought to mind several memories. One of my favorite family pictures is of my husband sipping pretend tea at a tea party with our then 3 y.o. daughter. The other memory is of all the positive black men -- my father, grandfathers, uncles, family friends, fathers of my friends, etc -- who help guide me to adulthood. I always adored my Dad and understood what I received from that relationship. Not until I had our daughter did I understand what my Dad received from my adoration. I witnessed on a daily basis the 2-way adoration between my husband and our daughter. Their bond is still strong. I finally understood that my Dad received as much from my adoration as I did because my husband was enriched from the adoration of our daughter. One year I was having trouble finding a black Santa for my kid to visit. My boss at the black social service agency where I worked asked why I was spending so much effort looking for a black Santa. My reply was, only black men were delivering toys to my house and I didn't want my kid to be confused. She, too, was raised around lots and lots of loving black men who cared for their families and communities. Being around responsible, loving & caring black men is not an aberration, but a reality for far more families than the greater community realizes.

With 72% of African American children born out of wedlock and 57.6% fatherless among African American children, it is a true blessing to see the wonderful examples of the countless African American fathers that love, nurture and support their children. The vast majority--i.e., 85%--of youth in prison were raised in single mother homes. 63% of young suicides come from a fatherless single mother home. Mothers provide an invaluable role. However, a mother cannot teach a young man to be a man. Perhaps, the media and Hollywood might wish to quit glamorizing single motherhood and pretending as if there isn't a voluminous amount of empirical data that suggests that it is psychologically and cognitively detrimental to the development of children. Mothers are often the only saving grace for fatherless children. More power to black fathers. More power to all fathers. And while single mothers should be applauded for doing the impossible, it would better for society and the well-being of their children if there were less single mothers.

A beautiful collection! I would like to celebrate my husband also (Father of my child) Where can we submit photos???

I am a black man and the father of a wonderful 13 year old daughter. I will happily stop thinking about race as soon as white people stop making it such a burden for me. Thank you for the article and the book.

This piece, however well intended, done and received, does little to counter the effect of the NYT’s decades of reporting that depicted African-American men in a disfiguring, misleading light.

[[“So the fact that these men are absent in mainstream media and the broader culture says more about who is at the helm of these media companies.”]] I don't believe it is a "fact" that black fathers are "absent" from mainstream media. "Black-ish" is a tv show going into its fifth season. Rocky Carroll has played Leon Vance on "NCIS" for a decade and many episodes have shown him to be an involved and loving father. David Alan Grier had "The Carmichael Show." There's "Queen Sugar," Sterling K. Brown on "This is Us"...I feel like I could go on into movies. More importantly though, I question what are "mainstream" media these days when musicians can avoid the studio system and comedians can self-promote. Does it really matter anymore who is at the helm of a media company? [[The myths of black fatherhood as dysfunctional or failed prevail despite ample evidence to the contrary.]] With all due respect, if you go into low income communities - regardless of race - you're doing to find a high degree of dysfunctionality and a high percentage of absentee fathers. I've been in classrooms where 90% of the kids come from single parent, female headed homes. And people tell me that the fathers "help out" or drop in from time to time, but that's not parenting. Certainly, based on the academic outcomes, it's not effective parenting. "Black fatherhood" hasn't failed, but plenty of black fathers have dropped the ball. That's not a myth.

I love this!

Loving fathers matter. Congrats to them all.

Beautiful and inspiring pictures. And there are many dedicated black fathers in our nation. But the rest of the story, if you believe in hard data, is the the percentage of black children living with just a mother (no father in the home) increased two and a half times between 1960 (20%) and 2013 (50%). For comparison purposes, only 18% of white children are living with just a mother (no father) in the home. So, lets be careful declaring the all clear and starting the hi-fives. There are sadly huge percentages of black children growing up without a father present.

Because I now live in a poor area, I see dads of color being dads a lot. Never more do I realize how suburbanites are just full of negative assumptions about how poor people live. All I have to do is attend a meetup activity outside of here, and invariably some white women has to put in her two cents at the end of the activity, ranking on the poor. Here also I see young men wheeling around disabled family members in wheel chairs on the street. A glimpse of humanity you'd never see in other places.

Thank you for your positive piece - we have a long way to go, especially in this political environment. We need to break the stigma of our black and brown fathers being wholly absent. Do we speak of deadbeat white fathers? Incarceration of white people? I firmly believe in the new Jim Crow. The vilification of our blacks and browns continues to fuel a highly successful privatized prison system in this nation. And now we have an administration that may as well be wearing white sheets and burning crosses on lawns. I appreciate this wonderful piece and celebrate the writer for spreading positivity. And I desperately hope that those areas of the country that voted for this president, get the education they need to understand that every person is of the same race: human.

I've been nurtured by my father, and the life lessons and responsibilities, that I learned, I've used to take care of my son to manhood. Baby daddy is for the President, who's a baby daddy to 5, with 3 baby mamas.

How does it differ from white fatherhood, gray fatherhood, blue, green or red fatherhood? Only racists think race matters.

Exquisite.

I was in my mid-20s before I realized that what I had growing up was not considered "normal" for an African-American male. I was surrounded by positive black male role-models including my father, my mother's brothers, my god-father, friend's fathers and other "uncles" whose presence I took for granted. They were all responsible family oriented men who were educated and had careers. I couldn't identify with many of the media images that portrayed black men negatively (particularly when the authors of some of those images were themselves black). During my teen years, the disconnect with the media portrayal was alienating. Later, as I completed college and entered the workforce, I was amused when my life history didn't neatly fit comfortable stereotypes. I'm now a father of two, and I'm thrilled that Ms. Pierre is shining a light these "invisible" stories.

I'm not hearing 'people' decry Black fathers. It is the absence of fathers in their children's lives that is perceived as the problem. Having more than one adult able to help raise a child is super important for healthy, happy, productive children. The dad seems to be absent in the vast majority of stories of families in trouble. Hooray for dads who are actively involved in raising their children. Moms too! Great pics!

I wonder how it is that my life was so special. I had my father hold my hand as we crossed the street, I was 32 years old and asked him not to hold my hand he replied that one day I would miss holding his hand. I remember my grandfather holding my hand as I held my children's hand. I never knew having a Dad in your life was a special thing until I looked up and missed my dad holding my hand. I hold my 35 year old sons hand

I look forward to reading this book and some of the other books noted in the article. The narrative surrounding black men has always been negative. There are a lot of bad fathers out there, but it's good to see the spotlight on some good fathers.

Love these pics!

Even tho my daughter is not his flesh and blood, I have a beautiful picture of Joe, on his knees behind Kati, doing her hair before fifth grade graduation because I was late home. This book is badly needed to prove to people who may not have a Joe in their life.

Beautiful. My dad was largely absent and my kids dads were also. But I'm thrilled that for all 5 grand kids, and the oldest is now 30; their dads were with them every step of the way. I may not have agreed with their philosophies at times, but told myself to shut up and be thankful that they were involved and took care of their families. It makes a difference.

Gorgeous pictures! I love seeing this, as there are so many great black fathers that deserve to be celebrated. I am heartily tired of the narrative that black fathers are absent. They are not. It's just a racist stereotype that America has yet to shake.

Thank you Mr. Berger. These are beautiful - posed, but honest, like a snapshot which is my favorite kind of photograph. I'm 58 now and my father died 40 years ago (July 12 1978). I only have one picture of us together. It's a black & white photo taken in1965 of him holding our dog, Buddy, in our front yard w. me (age 5 1/2) on one side & my sister (9-ish) on his other - each of us w. one arm slung across one of his shoulders. He's smiling broadly, which is something he didn't do much of after that time. I don't know why nobody took more photos. Certainly they were an extravagance for us, but, also, my parents soon had too many troubles to focus on our childhoods. My husband, who is 13 years older came from a more affluent family and there are piles of his family's pictures - many in color well before 1965 - and even home movies. The photo of me and my father is one of my most precious possessions. In a fire, I'd grab that and my wedding ring. Everything else can burn.

Thank you, Robyn Price Pierre, for these beautiful images and for your important anti-racism work correcting false, dehumanizing, dangerous stereotypes.

I know we're not supposed to shout in the comments but I can't help it. BEAUTIFUL!

These photos are beautiful and so touching. There's so much love and tenderness that just pours out of the images. Thank you!

It is a shame that what your see in the media is the bad side of society. I know a lot of good fathers who are black, but the bad ones are the ones in the press. There is so much in the news regarding parents, of all color, injuring or killing their children, that it seems like the majority of society is like this. We have to keep reminding ourselves that this is the exception, not the rule. All of these beautiful pictures put a smile on my face

I remember numerous articles in the 60's & 70's that focused on the absence of black fathers. This article really impressed me. Just the love shown in the photos made me smile. They really are more impactful than words.

I'm not sure black fathers are so scarce in popular culture. Back in the 80s, Bill Cosby played a loving, attentive and caring father on... Oh wait, not the best example.

thank you Maurice Berger. Such representation is much needed.

Great pictures. Its all about perspective, I see and have seen plenty of active, engaged fathers. They aren't that hard to find.

Thank you Ms. Pierre for sharing these photos, but more importantly for bringing visibility to something we see everyday...Black dads fathering their children. Unlike the stereotype or mass media images, the Black men I know are very active in their children's lives. They are assets and not deficits to their families and our community. We need to change the perception of Black men to our reality, which will correct the perception of the Black community. Thanks for sharing.

Father is a beautiful word in any culture. I never cared for the popular term, my baby daddy, to describe a father.

Love is love. And it certainly shows here. Just beautiful.

I just love these photos! They put a huge smile on my face in these bad times. Thank you!!

My husband had told me that he was walking with our son and two women came up to him and said to him "I hope you stay in his life." I was flabbergasted! It happened to be two older black women, saying this to a black man. The narrative says that black men are NOT supposed to be in their children's lives. I say that that narrative is a broken one. My husband, our friends and families are the exception.

These are beautiful portraits! thanks so much for sharing them with us...