Custody Wars Updating the Ongoing Dilemma For Black Fathers

•What Should be Done About Lack of Fathers Child Custody Rights
Wouldn’t it be nice if President Obama spoke up for fathers’ child custody rights; those who are being beat down by the family court system instead of the minority who are deadbeats? Where is the conversation and uproar on fathers’ child custody rights for them? Who is speaking to the massive destruction of the nuclear family and the impact on fathers who are being denied visitation and access, but charged with paying support? Many of these fathers have committed no crime other than a change...

•The Gift of Parenting Reflecting on Dad s Day and the Extended Family
Father’s Day is the annual celebration of the males who inspire and motivate their children. Recently, African American males have been repeatedly (and one-sidedly) bashed by the media as “deadbeat,” “absentee” and “abusive.” Unfortunately, the state of divorces, domestic violence and child abuse have reached epidemic proportions around the world in all cultures. Even sadder is the realization that the reflections for Dad’s day that incorporate images portraying fathers of color, especially...

•Gifts For Father s Day What do Men Really Want
Although Father’s Day continues to lag behind Mother’s Day in the spirit of giving, it is no less important as an opportunity to celebrate parenthood and the role of fathers. How the celebration has changed in terms of gifts for Father’s Day is a reflection of society’s view of fathers and the dynamics that comprise a family. Although the structure of the American family has challenged the role of fathers and their place as the head of the household, gifts for Father’s Day continue to...

•Black Veterans Still Not Receiving Their Due
With a Black President, many discussions have been re-kindled regarding the treatment of Blacks in various facets of American society. One area that still lacks in the depth required to first, identify problems and issues, and second, outline and implement solutions involves the care and support of Black veterans. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine all the problems and issues that specifically impact Black veterans and what they have been lacking from the country they have served for...

•Parental Influence Missing in Modern Black Athletes
There was a time in professional sports, especially in football, when an athlete who had just scored a touchdown or made a significant play would always look into the camera and say, “Hi Mom” or “Thanks Pop.” The parental involvement in the development of athletes, particularly Black athletes has taken a definite turn and it is not too positive. Over-aggressive agents and single-minded coaches have often taken the place of the parents in the decision making of promising athletes with promises...

•Black Clergy Taking the High Road or Taking a Hike on Social Reform
Every Sunday (and for some folks it is every Saturday), millions of people put on their “Sunday best” and pack the pews, padded seats, folding chairs and rough hewn benches of facilities nationwide that constitute their places of spiritual worship. While religion is practiced the world over, the connection for Black people to their church and the Black clergy who run them, seems to surpass all others, thus the role of Black preachers themselves has also followed that exalted path. “Our...

•Black Students Still Waiting For Superman
While the news was briefly all abuzz with the $100 million donation from one of the Facebook founders Mark Zuckerberg to help bolster the New Jersey school system, the plight of the Black students, in many of the poorest performing schools districts continues to take a back seat in the discussion. Whether to pay more in salaries to recruit more qualified teachers, increase funding for much needed supplies or to repair and upgrade outdated buildings are definitely important items to consider,...

•Black owned Businesses Addressing the How To When Feeling the Why Bother
With all the discussion about the growth industries including health, IT, education, green technologies, etc. that will lead the country out of its fiscal slump, you do not hear much about Black-owned businesses being a “growth area,” but it should be. The primary reason for the launch of many Black-owned businesses was the “concrete ceiling” effect within corporate America that drove promising Black executives into the entrepreneurial arena due to limited advancement opportunities. Other...

•Economic Recession Hits Black Men Hard
There is a saying that when White people are in a recession, that Black people are in a depression and that is quite true in this current economic recession. People of color, especially Black people, and most particularly Black men are feeling the full brunt of the economic recession that has often resembled a depression that mirrors the “Great One” of the 1930s. Articles in mainstream publications, including the Washington Times and others, highlight the impact that the recession has had on...

•Finally Black Farmers Settlement Appears Near
While the final amounts may vary, it is clear that those rallying for the Black farmers’ settlement to be, can almost rest assured that those long suffering laborers, many of whom have passed on, will finally receive the funds for a judgment they were awarded over a decade ago. Regal Magazine reported earlier about the plight of the Black farmers’ settlement, including Black and Native American farmers, who were part of a judgment in the Pigford case in 1997. At the time of our initial...