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Yesterday, news of the church shooting in Charleston which resulted in the death of nine people sent the black community reeling. The incident, now at the center of a hate crime investigation, is one of many in the last few months that has highlighted the realities of racism in America. Incidents like McKinney, Ferguson, and the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and countless other young black children have generated outrage and protest across the nation.
So what does it mean to be a black parent at a time like this? And what does it mean to be a black father? The myth of the black father has long been that he does not exist — that he’s absent and irresponsible. But today, more and more black dads are speaking out about their experiences raising children during a time in which police brutality and hate crimes have become the focus of an ongoing national conversation.
In time for Father’s Day, we asked six black fathers to tell The Huffington Post what it feels like for them to raise children in the age of #Blacklivesmatter:
“Whether or not black lives matter in social or political opinion, I want to make sure that my daughter knows that her life matters to me. I want to unapologetically love on my 7-month-old daughter and be as goofy around her as I want to.
