{"id":15238,"date":"2020-08-11T22:03:55","date_gmt":"2020-08-11T22:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/givelegacy.wpengine.com\/?post_type=resource&p=1339"},"modified":"2023-06-14T14:56:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T14:56:01","slug":"the-truth-about-black-fatherhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/resources\/the-truth-about-black-fatherhood\/","title":{"rendered":"The truth about Black fatherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stereotypes about Black fathers<\/span><\/h2>\n

The stereotype of Black fathers as \u201cabsent\u201d and Black children as \u201cfatherless\u201d\u2014first introduced over 50 years ago\u2014has, like many racial stereotypes, refused to die.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1965, white sociologist and Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a report called <\/span>The Negro Family: The Case For National Action<\/span><\/i>. This report claimed that increasing rates of \u201cout-of-wedlock\u201d 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. (The report has been <\/span>roundly criticized<\/span><\/a> by many race scholars.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, around 70% of Black children are <\/span>born to parents who aren\u2019t married<\/span><\/a>. (Rates of \u201cout-of-wedlock\u201d 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 \u201cabsence\u201d of black fathers has been parroted by pundits and politicians alike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even Black public figures have shared these statistics. In 2008, President Barack Obama said during his <\/span>Father\u2019s Day speech<\/span><\/a> that \u201cmore than half of all black children live in single-parent households\u2026 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. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home or become teenage parents themselves. And the foundations of our community are weaker because of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This stereotype ignores clear evidence that Black fathers are in fact <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> involved in their children\u2019s care, and their lives, than fathers of other races.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth: Black fathers are <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> involved<\/span><\/h2>\n

We can not equate the number of unmarried dads to the number of \u201cfatherless\u201d children. First of all, marriage rates don\u2019t necessarily reflect the number of Black fathers living with their children; as writer Josh Levs <\/span>points out<\/span><\/a>, the majority of Black dads (2.5 million of around 4.2 million) do live with their kids, even if they\u2019re not married to their partner.<\/span><\/p>\n

And second of all, according to a <\/span>2013 report by the CDC<\/span><\/a>, Black dads\u2014whether they live with their children, or not\u2014are more actively involved in their children\u2019s lives than their counterparts of other races.<\/span><\/p>\n

For 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\u2014all on a daily basis\u2014than fathers of other races who also cohabitate with their kids.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report also reveals that, among dads who don\u2019t 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. Non-residential Black fathers are also the <\/span>least<\/span><\/i> likely to report that they\u2019re not at all involved in the care of their children, including bathing, dressing, changing diapers, and playing with their children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mothers’ reports echo fathers’<\/h3>\n

Lest we believe that these statistics are skewed by the fathers\u2019 own self-reporting, other studies based on maternal reports echo these findings. In a <\/span>2008 survey of low-income mothers<\/span><\/a>, researchers found that \u201cnonresident white fathers were less involved with their children than African-American and Latino fathers.\u201d In a <\/span>2018 study of \u201cnonmarital\u201d births<\/span><\/a>, mothers reported that Black fathers \u201cshared responsibilities more frequently and displayed more effective coparenting than Hispanic and White fathers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And, it seems that the parental relationship, the strong focus of Moynihan\u2019s 1965 report, actually has less of an impact on Black fathers\u2019 involvement with their kids than it does on the involvement of other fathers. In a <\/span>2009 paper about the child-rearing roles of unmarried men<\/span><\/a>, authors note that \u201cFather involvement also varies by race and ethnicity, with rates for Africans American being higher than the average American father…. Father involvement drops sharply after parents\u2019 relationships end, especially when they enter subsequent relationships and have children with new partners. These declines are <\/span>less<\/span><\/i> dramatic for African American fathers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As journalist German Lopez <\/span>writes<\/span><\/a>, when it comes to Black fatherhood, \u201cabsence is not the norm. Active, involved parenthood is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Black men\u2019s journey to fatherhood<\/span><\/h2>\n

We know that fatherhood is an important goal for the majority of Black men. In a <\/span>survey of over 1,300 Black men<\/span><\/a> ages 18\u201329, 83% said that having children is somewhat or very important to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black men aren\u2019t significantly more or less likely to have children than other races; <\/span>census reports<\/span><\/a> show that about 75% of white men, 80% of Black men, 81% of Asian men, and 83% of Hispanic men ages 40\u201349 have kids. On average, Black men have or expect to have 2.4 children; that number is 2.5 for Hispanic men, 2.1 for white men, and 2.0 for Asian men, according to a <\/span>2010 report<\/span><\/a>. We can conclude that fatherhood is equally important to Black men as to men of other races.<\/span><\/p>\n

Black men and fertility<\/h3>\n

But the journey to fatherhood can be bumpier for Black men. We know that the <\/span>infertility rate among African Americans<\/span><\/a> is higher than that of other ethnicities. Specifically, semen health parameters are poorer among Black men. <\/span>According to research<\/span><\/a>, Black men have, on average, significantly lower semen<\/a> volume, sperm concentration, and total motile sperm counts<\/a> than white or Hispanic men. For Black men partnered with Black women\u2014who are 2\u20133 more likely to experience <\/span>uterine fibroids<\/span><\/a> and overall <\/span>more likely to report infertility<\/span><\/a>\u2014the issue can be compounded.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is this? Most likely, it\u2019s a complicated combination of socioeconomic, genetic, and biological factors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Centuries of institutional racism\u2014including lower levels of wealth and income, environmental degradation, provider racism, and other factors\u2014have produced stark health disparities between Black people and white people. We know, <\/span>according to the most recent national healthcare report<\/span><\/a>, that African-Americans are more likely to experience heart failure, stroke, diabetes, urinary tract infection, obesity, substance abuse, cancer, and myriad other health issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also know that the factors that contribute to these illnesses\u2014lifestyle, environment, income, nutrition, activity levels, and more\u2014<\/span>also<\/span><\/i> contribute to issues of fertility, especially male fertility. A man\u2019s <\/span>sperm health<\/span><\/a> is strongly influenced by what he eats, how often he exercises, whether or not he smokes, how much he drinks, and the quality of his sleep, among other factors. Additionally, we know that Black men are <\/span>more likely to be exposed to toxins<\/span><\/a> that impact fertility, such as air pollution and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, in their home and work environments. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, unfortunately, there\u2019s a lot we <\/span>don\u2019t<\/span><\/i> know, as well. As one researcher exploring the Black experience of infertility <\/span>writes<\/span><\/a>, \u201cThere is an abundance of research that contributes to the body of knowledge of infertility among white people, but there is very little that examines the experience for African Americans.\u201d Even within the field of fertility and environmental toxin exposure, which we know disproportionately affects Black Americans, research tends to have \u201cgreater than 80% White and between 2% and 10% African American participants,\u201d according to <\/span>researchers<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We know that Black men are active, involved fathers, and that having children is important to them\u2014and we also know that their infertility rates are higher. What we need now, and in the future, is more research into fertility for Black men and Black couples, and to bust the myth of the \u201cabsent black father\u201d once and for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more about the Future of Fatherhood<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Black fatherhood has been blamed for racial disparities\u2014but evidence demonstrates that the majority of Black fathers are active, involved parents. While parenthood is equally important to Black men as it is to men of other races, racial health disparities are reflected in sperm parameters\u2014but research on Black men’s fertility is still scarce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"%%post_title%% %%sep%% %%sitetitle%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"Black fatherhood has been blamed for racial disparities\u2014but evidence demonstrates that the majority of Black fathers are active, involved parents.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[158,70],"tags":[157,151,153,159,160],"class_list":["post-15238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pregnancy","category-trying-to-conceive","tag-black-men","tag-fatherhood","tag-parenting","tag-race","tag-racism"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16164,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15238\/revisions\/16164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.givelegacy.com\/vnext\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}