An uplifting front page story in the Buffalo News showing that fathers have a role to play in the education of their children. I hope it brightens your day and deepens your commitment to children and their fathers.
“It helps us grow, too, as fathers, to see the expression on our kids faces…”
At a Buffalo charter school on Monday, organizers invited men to participate in the national eighth annual Million Father March. The event is designed to encourage men to make a commitment to their children’s educational needs to help improve academic achievement.
This particular MFM initiative began in Atlanta in recognition of facts showing that when fathers or male guardians are involved with their children, those children
- do better in school;
- have better attendance;
- are less likely to do drugs;
- are more likely to go to college;
- are less likely to have sex at an early age;
- and are less likely to be involved with the criminal justice system
“A man can only teach a man to be a man. I had plenty of males in my life to teach me right from wrong and to instill values in me,” said [Derek] Middlebrooks, 25.
via Buffalo men go back to school to help kids – City & Region – The Buffalo News.
Contrast this positive effort encouraging Buffalo fathers with my recent post about a California father denied custody of his daughter whose lesbian mothers are incapacitated (one is imprisoned and the other is seriously ill). More initiatives are needed to highlight the positive influence of fathers, particularly black men, in lifting their children out of poverty and guiding them towards success.
If you liked this story, please contact the Buffalo News and tell them so.
The concept of “multiple parents” is not new, most certainly in the black community. I’m sure you have a “godfather” and a “godmother” and regard their kids as your “god brothers/sisters” or even as “play cousins”. In our culture, a god-parent is a close family friend who is given authority to spoil or discipline a child, and in the case of an early demise, has the moral authority to take up guardianship of their “god-child” and if not legal guardianship, most certainly they are there to protect and nurture the child “as your parents would want”. I believe your real issue is that you oppose same-sex marriages/unions and are trying to squeeze your bias into a very legitimate issue. A biological father’s rights need to be respected and if the biological mother and her same-sex or even heterosexual partner are no longer available to raise the child, the biological father should be given serious consideration especially if they have a relationship with the child. Any healthy household is better than a state-run group home. The government and courts were totally wrong on this one. So, pull your pants up, your biases are showing.
I wear my bias on my sleeve. Biology should trump a silly law. If, and when, the child’s lesbian co-mother recovers, I hope she and Dad share custody. I was ridiculing the law and lawmakers. But I’ll always cheer men who assume their parenting responsibilities. That’s a bias I wear proudly.