Fellowship
Traditional Parental Roles are Changing
By Jazelle Hunt
Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A cache of
new research from the Pew Center paints a
picture of the modern American family—a
picture in which the historically rigid roles
and responsibilities of moms and dads are
meeting in the middle.
But that picture has always been a bit dif-
ferent for Black moms and dads, and the
ways this cultural shift is unfolding reflects
those differences.
“As such roles change, African Americans
are included too,” says George Garrow Jr.,
executive director of Concerned Black
Men. The nonprofit seeks to uplift children
and families by building Black male role
models.
“I would point out there’s an uncounted
group of fathers who are staying at home
with their children, or they have custody,”
Garrow continues. “We focus so much on
doubled since 1989, with 2 million fathers
comprising 16 percent of stay-at-home par-
ents, up from 10 percent in 1989.
Now, 50 percent of working fathers—
more than ever before—report the same
“work-life balance” challenges that work-
ing moms have decried for so long. The
challenge is stemming from changing atti-
tudes around the meaning of fatherhood.
“Our fatherhood program tries to teach
that their role as a father does not hinge
completely on the financial contributions.
Your child needs emotional, psychological
support as well,” Garrow says. “Those we
are helping to reconnect [with their chil-
dren], we help them appreciate that…the
[lack of] ability to provide is no reason to
step away from your family.”
Garrow touches upon a gloomy Pew find-
ing: While fathers are beginning to redefine
fatherhood beyond bringing home the
bacon, there are also fewer fathers (of all
races) coming home at all.
‘We focus so much on fathers who are not with
their children—and admittedly, Black fathers are
disproportionately not in the home—but that
group of fathers with primary care is not an
insignificant number’
fathers who are not with their children—and
admittedly, Black fathers are disproportion-
ately not in the home—but that group of
fathers with primary care is not an insignif-
icant number.”
In fact, those dads are now being counted.
According to Pew research, Black fathers
account for 16 percent of stay-at-home
dads, and 9 percent of fathers who both
work and live with all their children. The
number of stay-at-home dads has nearly
One paper reports that 27 percent of all
fathers live apart from at least one of their
children. For Black men, that figure is 44
percent. Further, 55 percent of Black chil-
dren were living in a single-parent home,
according to 2011 Census data.
At the same time, Black fathers who live
apart from their children are the most likely
of all dads outside the home to see their
child at least monthly (67 percent do), and
most likely to talk to their child several
Since 1965, mothers have almost tripled the amount of paid work they do
each week, but they still lag fathers who work, on average, 37 hours a week.
Meanwhile, fathers have increased their housework and child care time, but
still only do about half of what mothers do.
times a week about their day (49 percent).
Garrow says that the reasons behind
absentee fathers in the Black community are
often overlooked.
“Rarely do you see…fathers who just feel
like, ‘I don’t want to be a father, I don’t
have desire to be in my kids life,’” he
explains. “There are a number of reasons
they step away, and a big one is they don’t
want to be there if they can’t provide eco-
nomic support. Sometimes [their child’s
mother] may feel this way, too.”
The shift in attitudes and norms is affect-
ing moms, too.
“Since 1965, mothers have almost tripled
the amount of paid work they do each week,
but they still lag fathers who work, on aver-
age, 37 hours a week,” it explains.
“Meanwhile, fathers have increased their
housework and child care time, but still
only do about half of what mothers do.”
Black children are least likely to grow up
with a stay-at-home mom (23 percent, com-
pared to 37 percent for Asians, 36 percent
for Latinos, and 26 percent for Whites).
This is likely because egalitarian views
about breadwinning are not new for African
Americans.
“According to the survey, blacks are far
more likely than whites to see earning a liv-
ing as a top responsibility of dads and
moms. Fully half (51 percent) of blacks say
providing income is “extremely important”
for fathers compared with 40 percent of
whites,” say the researchers. Black respon-
dents felt the responsibility was just as great
for mothers, compared to 21 percent of
Whites who agreed.
The changes in family roles are also
reflected in public attitudes, although the
attitudes seem to be changing more slowly.
For example, 58 percent of respondents
believe that the ideal situation for kids is to
have a working mother—though most (42
percent) believe that she should only work
part-time. In reality, moms are the bread-
winners in 40 percent of households.
“[T]here are also some differences in the
way the public weighs the roles of mothers
and fathers, especially when it comes to
being an income provider,” says one report.
“Just 25 percent of survey respondents say
this is an extremely important role for moth-
ers, compared with 41 percent who feel that
way about fathers.”
Interestingly, public policy doesn’t seem
to be keeping up with the times, according
to Garrow.
“Our social system is not making it partic-
ularly easy for fathers to receive assistance,
for example, if they’re the single head of
their household. And a lot of our fathers
have complained…when there’s custody
disputes, their input or response is not con-
sidered by judges,” he says. “But when we
bring fathers back into their child’s lives
they are sharing roles in raising their child.
It’s always collaborative.”
Come Celebrate “1” with us!
Celebrating the 1st Anniversary of Pastor J. Walter Hills, II
FRIDAY, JUNE 20 • 7:00pm
Special guests include:
Rev. Calvin Hailstock of Columbia SC
Music guests: Derrick McDuffey & Kingdom Sound, Sax-
ophonist Jaqueine Echols of Seattle, WA and the trio of
Lorene Wilder, Roslyn Wilder and Tanesha Chiles.
SUNDAY, JUNE 22 • 10:00am
Featuring: Rev. Shawn Roberson of Columbia, SC.
The finale will be at 3:00pm with the Rev. Charles
B. Jackson Jr of Columbia will be preaching.
Music guests: local saxophonist Great Eldon “T”
Jones and the New Hope and Friends choir
Please join us in these special worship
services to magnify the Lord and celebrate
the anniversary of Pastor Hills.
The New Hope Missionary Baptist Church • 3725 N. Gantenbein, Portland
For more information call 503.281.0163
Page 8 The Portland and Seattle Skanner June 18, 2014