Can Obama Encourage Responsible Parenting?

This Father's Day, like the last, has given President Obama an oportunity to speak out about being a good father. But how much will his words resonate with men in the black community, a growing number of which are deciding to abandon their roles as fathers? Can a president really hold families together?

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  Sam Fulwood III

  Courtesy of Sam Fulwood III

  I don't think there's a damn thing that President Obama singularly can do or say to alter the sad trajectory of absent fathers. The president--any president--represents the government, and this crisis is beyond the reach of an individual's ability to force wholistic government intervention. However, it's a good thing that President Obama leads by example. Most black men--even absent fathers--seem to respect him. And the president appears to be a good father. That's a marvelous example for him to set.
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  Jonathan Pitts-Wiley

  In my experience, good parenting is a matter of follow-through; making the decision to stay committed in spite of circumstances that can seem insurmountable at times. Being a father is a 24-hour-a-day job that can be as thankless as it can be rewarding. Unfortunately, some brothas don't want to do the job at all. Others lose focus on their children. What can President Obama do? Little, outside of being a good role model for black men in general.

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  Mark Anthony Neal

  Courtesy of Mark Anthony Neal

  The beauty of Obama’s town hall meeting on fatherhood and responsibility is that he is a figure who doesn’t have to speculate about the pitfalls of fatherlessness. The work for Obama is to go beyond the symbolism of the day and to enact policy that addresses the connection between fatherlessness and unemployment, implementation of programs that can enhance a father's ability of to become a more skilled parent, and to begin a frank discussion about father’s reproductive/parental rights. While there will be limits to what "government" can do, the point is to create the political will in the country to make sure the concerns of parents considered nationwide.

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  Glenn Minnis

  Courtesy of Glenn Mennis

  As much as they are born, fathers are also made. Our hope and mission as dads each day has to be to become closer and more connected with our children.
  
  To see Barack Obama pride himself on being the dad that he is, is inspiring.  It's not his responsibility to raise our kids, but to see him as the ever vigilant caretaker that he is for his family can motivate African-American dads everywhere.

  -Glenn Minnis is a NYC-based writer

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  Lenny McAllister

  Courtesy of Lenny McAllister

  "Black Fatherhood only comes back into the Black America in a forceful and beneficial way when we decide to prioritze it over pride, frustration, anger, fear, and money. The expectation that Black men will not be involved in the lives of their children must be forever changed. The condonation of non-committed Black women not advocating for or blatently interfering with healthy, regular relationships between their children and their children's fathers must be challenged. There needs to be an internal change of heart in our communities before we can hold the courts and government accountable for the continual decay of the Black family."