The impact of absent black fathers. (Essay Sample)

Mekdes Zemariam Professor Reid English 80 25 May 2016 The Impact of Absent Black Fathers Will Smith once said, "If you're absent during my struggle, don't expect to be present during my success." Children who grow up in single-parent homes may feel this same sentiment towards their fathers. The pandemic of missing black fathers in today's general public is tremendously expanding and deteriorating. Fatherlessness is associated with almost every black family. In the article, "Turning the corner of Father Absence in Black America," by the Morehouse Research Conference signers urge the African-American community to reverse the trend of father absence. They used statistical fact and research to support their analysis. As a result, they agree that African American children deserve healthy and active relationships with their fathers. Reversing the trend of father absence must rise to the top of the agenda for African Americans and for the nation. The effects on African American children whose fathers are absent are abuse and misbehavior; the causes of absent black fathers are unemployment and incarceration; the solution is to provide more education opportunities by establishing programs and improving the criminal justice system so that fathers and children can be reconnected. One of the effects a black absent father has on children is abuse. Children living with their single mother may likely suffer abuse of some sort, be emotional, physical or even sexual abuse. This type of abuse could come at the hands of single mothers, their boyfriends or current husbands, caregivers of other family members. It could be said that single mothers often have to work harder and longer hours than mothers of children living with two parents, and this Leaves their children more exposed to abuse at the hands of others. In the article "The Myth of Welfare Queen," Farai Chideya states "The average payment for a family of three was a mere $388 per month or $4,656 per year- less than half of the $10,860 poverty level" (284). The statisticsshow that the welfare benefits are little and mothers have to work for longer hours. While doing so, their children may be forced to stay with their family members or caregivers where they may experience physical or emotional abuse. Girls may become desperate due to poverty while their mothers are out working for a long time, and they may turn to their boyfriends where they may be subjected to sexual abuse. Another effect of black American absent fathers is the misbehavior of their sons. Boys whose fathers were absent often struggle to discover manhood.Morehouse Research Institute states, "There are the boys and young men who, without the protection and guidance of their fathers, fight each day to figure out what it means to be a man improvising for themselves expedient." (Turning the Corner on Father Absence In Black America, pp 293-295). This distinction shows that children who grow up without a dad have an increased risk of a faulty development into manhood. Children of absent black fathers can experience difficulties such as behavioral problems. For example, the feeling of inadequacy can be an escape for thediscouraged child. A child who demonstrates this behavior can be hostile and defiant. Also, children can show a strong need to engage with the teachers in arguments to monopolize class time or simply to be annoying. Stealing, lying or destroying property is the best example of inappropriate behavior. Some people believe that black American men somehow place less value on parenting. For instance, the media portrays black men as a missing-in-action, disinterested, and abandoning their children. In the article "The Myth of the Welfare Queen," the author states that "one problem is geography-another is Journalistic myopia" (Chideya 283). This information shows that stereotypical gender imbalance in this area doesn't hold true, and dads are just as hands-on when it comes to raising their kids. Although some may argue that, the black fathers are more likely to separate from their children that are usually trotted out to prove the parenting crisis. In the article, "A Woman Just Wouldn't," Elizabeth Clark-Lewis states that "If women rarely performed "men's work' at home, their hard labor both within and outside the home sometimes took a toll on their relationship with their children and with their family in general" (279). This information illustrates that many stereotypes labeled black American men as unreliable and lazy. A black American woman is labeled as too dominant for the good of her man, and she is viewed as the central figure in his emasculation. The stereotype even passed from the slavery time that family was aweek or possibly nonexistent bond between the mother, children, and the father. One cause of absent black American fathers is unemployment. A combination of institutionalized and interpersonal racism contributes to black male unemployment. As a result, black fathers' ability to contribute financially to their households is one of the main causes of fatherlessness in black homes. The official reason for father nonappearance among African Americans is the absence of sufficient monetary opportunities (Morehouse Research Institute, pp 296). The article explains that the absent black fathers find it difficult to acquire job opportunities due to lack of education and the resources to adequately prepare for today's job market. In some cases, finding steady work will require work training and better connections to prospective employers. As a result, the pressure of unemployment has a negative effect on the children of these fathers. An absent black father who has afinancial problem due to unemployment can lead to the damage of his children's perception of marriage. For instance, the absent black father can have atangible psychological impact simply because he is not presentfrom the relationship. The result is that there are effects on the children in regards to their perceptions of marriageability. The other cause in the absence of black fathers is incarceration. Black men constitute the majority of the people in America's jails today. They are very likely to have some criminal record during their life as black men. Many black fathers who are absent from their children are forced to do so by incarceration. Morehouse Research Institute states that "Although African American comprises about 12 percent of the U.S. population, they account for nearly 30 percent of arrests and over half of all prisoners" (303). This hascaused an excessive number of black fathers to miss from too many lives and most importantly, their children. They have relinquished their obligations as fathers and the establishments of their families are weaker on account of it. About half of all black youngsters in the U.S. today live in single-guardian family units as a result of imprisonment of black fathers. Although there are many problems, there are also solutions to the absence of black fathers. One of the solutions is to provide an adequate education opportunity. Furthermore, appropriate training programs and resources at the state and local level could open the opportunity for a black father to train and prepare for today's job market. To do that, systematic change will require companies to review policies that disproportionately exclude people who could otherwise perform the job. Also, regulatory changes would help facilitate these modifications. Furthermore, the African American culture of coming together as a family could also increase the possibility of networking among themselves. In the article "In Praise of Black Family R...