Father’s Day is a time to honor those men who love and support their families. I remember admitting a dad who had developed pertussis (whooping cough). The pediatrician admitted the infant daughter.  He was so upset that he had been the one to make his child sick.  We explained this can happen.  Back then it was a few cases and now there are more.

Loving husbands and fathers make a difference during difficult times. My husband spent many days taking our son to the Pediatrician alone for shots.  It was difficult for me to get away from my training and later the office.  He did the soccer games, tennis lessons and all the homework.  He was the Book Fair volunteer; he and another Dad would make sure the kids made smart book choices.  He was the chaperone on the school trips. He made all the visits to the orthodontist for the brace, found the Barber for the haircuts and scheduled the music lessons.  He cooked all our meals and even did the laundry.   He also was very involved with his children from his first marriage.  I met him a few years after the divorce.  After we started dating, I met his son and daughter when they were age 7 and 8.  I took the liberty of putting his daughter’s hair in a neater style.  She was so cute. We have celebrated 32 Father’s days together.  I think he still has many of the cards.

Two black male journalist and fathers look at the myth surrounding the absent Black father. Ta-nehesi Coates writes eloquently about this is his article Understanding Out-of-Wedlock Births in Black America.  He revisits the Moynihan report and sheds new light on the findings. Charles Blow sheds light on this subject in his article Black Dads Are Doing Best of All. 

Black fathers have been the victim of stereotypes of being absent and uninvolved.  The LA times in December 2013, published an article covering a report released by the National Center for Health Statistics.  The table highlights some important statistics.  The report was based on a federal survey that included more than 3,900 fathers between 2006 and 2010.

So let’s just celebrate all fathers today.