Title: The myth of the missing black father /
Authors: Coles, Roberta L.; Green, Charles
Publisher: Columbia University Press,
Year: 2010
Subjects: African American fathers.; Absentee fathers.; African American families.
Abstract: "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.
Contents: "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.