The Myth of the Missing Black Father : the Persistence of Black Fatherhood in America

Common Stereotypes Portray Black Fathers As Being Largely Absent From Their Families. Yet While Black Fathers Are Less Likely Than White And Hispanic Fathers To Marry Their Child's Mother, Many Continue To Parent Through Cohabitation And Visitation, Providing Caretaking, Financial, And Other In-kind Support. This Volume Captures The Meaning And Practice Of Black Fatherhood In Its Many Manifestations, Exploring Two-parent Families, Cohabitation, Single Custodial Fathering, Stepfathering, Noncustodial Visitation, And Parenting By Extended Family Members And Friends. Contributors Examine Ways That Black Men Perceive And Decipher Their Parenting Responsibilities, Paying Careful Attention To Psychosocial, Economic, And Political Factors That Affect The Ability To Parent. Chapters Compare The Diversity Of African American Fatherhood With Negative Portrayals In Politics, Academia, And Literature And, Through Qualitative Analysis And Original Profiles, Illustrate The Struggle And Intent Of Many Black Fathers To Be Responsible Caregivers. This Collection Also Includes Interviews With Daughters Of Absent Fathers And Concludes With The Effects Of Certain Policy Decisions On Responsible Parenting.--book Cover. My Kids And Wife Have Been My Life: Married African American Fathers Staying The Course / Loren Marks [and Others] -- Poverty And Parenting Style Among Black Married Couples / Ronald E. Bulanda -- Rearing Biracial Children: The Experiences Of Black Married Fathers / Erica Chito Childs, Heather M. Dalmage -- Single Custodial Fathers: A Narrative Tour Of Their Parenting / Roberta L. Coles -- Single Custodial Fathers And Mothers Meeting The Challenge: A Comparative Note / Charles Green -- Public Assistance Receipt: A Comparison Of Black And White Single-father Families / Aurea K. Osgood, Ryan D. Schroeder -- Fathering In Low-income Black Families: Studying Father-figure Flows / Mansa Bilal Mark A. King -- Standing In The Gap: The Kinship Care Role Of The Invisible Black Grandfather / Aaron A. Smith -- African American Men Rearing Children In Violent Neighborhoods / Bethany L. Letiecq. Caring For The Family Child: Kin Networks Of Young Low-income African American Fathers / Kevin M. Roy, Colleen K. Vesely -- Feuding Identities: To Be African American, A Father, And A College Athlete / Jacqueline D. Smith -- Daughters' Constructions Of Connectedness To Their Nonresident Fathers / Eunice Matthews-armstead -- Where's Your Daddy? African American Father Figures In Children's Storybooks / Suzanne Lamorey -- Parenting On Parole Or Probation: African American Fatherhood Under Community Supervision / Amy B. Smoyer, Kim M. Blankenship, Tracy Macintosh -- Fostering Fatherhood: Understanding The Effects Of Child-support Policy On Low-income, Noncustodial African American Fathers / Cheryl E. Mills -- Fatherhood Responsibility And The Marriage-promotion Policy: Going To The Chapel And We're Going To Get Married? / David J. Pate, Jr. Edited By Roberta L. Coles And Charles Green. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Statistics show that close to 70 percent of all births to black mothers are nonmarital, giving rise to the stereotype that black fathers are largely absent. However, while black fathers are less likely than white and Hispanic fathers to marry their child's mother, many black fathers continue to parent through cohabitation and visitation, providing caretaking, financial, and in-kind support. This volume recasts the meaning of black fatherhood in its many manifestations, exploring two-parent families, cohabitation, single custodial fathering, stepfathering, noncustodial visitation, and parenting by extended family members and friends. Contributors examine the way in which black men perceive and decipher their parenting responsibilities, paying careful attention to psychosocial, economic, and political factors that affect the ability to parent. Chapters compare the diversity of African American fatherhood with negative portrayals in politics, academia, and literature, and, through qualitative analysis and original profiles, ultimately refute the argument that young black fathers are irresponsible caregivers. This collection also includies several interviews with daughters of absent fathers and concludes with the effects of certain policy decisions on responsible parenting