Black Fatherhood: Affirming Identity, Celebrating the Experience of Parenting, and Policy Implications

Title: Black Fatherhood: Affirming Identity, Celebrating the Experience of Parenting, and Policy Implications.

Roundtable Organizer: David Pate, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Roundtable Panelists: Qiana Cryer-Coupet (Georgia State University). From resident to nonresident: Black father reflections on residential status transitions.;

Quentin Riser (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Fostering Futures: Black Fathers' Literacy Practices and School Readiness.

David Pate (University of Wisconsin-Madison).Examining the Unintended Consequences of Accessing Family Policy and Father Involvement.;

Deon Brown (Texas A&M University), Stephen Gibson (Virginia Commonwealth University), Alvin Thomas (University of Wisconsin-Madison). African American Fathers' General and Racialized Parenting Ideologies, Racialized Experiences, and Racial Socialization Messages

Research Method/ Type of the roundtable: Mixed Methods

Cluster/ Topical Area of the roundtable: Black and African Diaspora Focused-Research (BADFR)/Identity.

African American parenting is by definition antiracist from the perspective of learning to navigate racism and discrimination, and engendering resilience in themselves and their children. African American fathers are essential to parenting efforts intended to support and enhance the development of children, but fathers are rarely featured in the research, or conversations on these issues (Walsh et al., 2022; Thomas et al., 2021). This roundtable celebrates African American fathers impact in family life and policymaking, but in celebrating fatherhood, we must be able, finally, to put to rest the stereotypes and myths that inhibit our understanding of the diversity of roles played by the Black father in his family. (J. L. McAdoo, 1986, p. 18)" (Cooper et al., 2023). The roundtable begins with an analysis of family law and policy and its negative impact on racially marginalized fathers, their children, and families. An appreciation of how policies and problematic socio historical narratives about Black fathers affect fathers and their families sets the stage for examining pathways through which African American fathers enhance and contribute to their children development. Beyond the impact of exosystem forces on fathers we examine factors that guide fathers decisions to engage ethnic racial socialization (ERS) messaging to prepare and protect their children from discrimination. The roundtable also examines how fathers residential transitions and curated home literary environments impact their childrens development, and the father-child relationship. Together, the papers in this roundtable affirm the identities and efforts of African American fathers and celebrate their antiracist efforts at strengthening their children and families.

Furthermore, the goal of this roundtable is to engage in a conversation on the important role of African American fathers and their critical role in child development. This work highlights not only the historical and systemic challenges faced by fathers but their resilience and adaptive strategies leveraged to support their children and families. This work urges policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to integrate these insights into actionable strategies that promote inclusivity, support father engagement, and dismantle barriers that African American fathers face. By focusing on the constructive and antiracist parenting practices of African American fathers, we can foster a more nuanced understanding of fatherhood within these communities and create a foundation for policies that genuinely support all families in their diverse forms and experiences.