The African American Crisis of the Absentee Father

Courtney Soares

Research Paper

8th period

April 10th, 2008

The crisis of the absentee father is an issue that influences and impacts the African American community.

My aim is to find out the effects of a fatherless upbringing on a child’s behavioral, emotional stability, and educational attainment.

“I had no daddy around when I was growing up… that’s why I’m wild and I don’t give a…”-lyrics by Teiarra Mari. Father absence among the African American community is a very popular yet critical issue. It’s even mentioned in the music industry. This can be the effect of lack of responsibility, incarceration, death, among various other things. Some young men become fathers at a very young age when they are probably very immature, irresponsible, and simply not quite ready for fatherhood. A lot of fathers are unable to build relationships with their children because they are in prison. Other bonds between fathers and children may be cut short due to the death of the father. Situations like these can lead to an unstable household with a single mother left to raise her children alone without the security of a man. Also young children may be left to face troubled childhoods while deeply longing for a father, which can later lead to an identity crisis, rebellion, teenage pregnancy, suicide, etc.

In this ay and age, a majority of African American children are without fathers. “ more than 70 percent of African American children are born out of wedlock, with the majority raised by single mothers.” “ most American children suffer from too much mother and too little father.” This can be dramatically affected by more than one issue such as the father’s ability to provide financial support. Some fathers feel as if they can not be a provider for their families and choose not to be a part of them. Others are pushed away due to their inability to support their families. Some researchers believe that dad’s who are not around are “deadbeats” who are able to provide for their children but instead choose not to. While others believe that some men are more low income, poorly educated, and are not able to find work, but would like to be a part of their children’s lives but aren’t quite sure how to. “the absence of the African American father affects their children, their relationships, and society as a whole, while countering a notion that family fragmentation within the African American community is inevitable.” A lot of homes are without fathers because the homes are broken. The families are split up, which is not rare to come across in this society.

“Many have argued that fathers are important to the psychological development of children and adolescents.” Research evidence indicates that the father plays an essential role in psychological as well as sociological balance of the sexes within the structure of