Twenty writers came together to share their experiences and stories on fatherhood in an anthology titled, Bet on Black; African-American Woman Celebrate Fatherhood in the Age of Barack Obama to help break the image of absent black fathers.
The independently published book, featuring authors such as Karen Good Marable and Yannick Rice Lamb, is set to release on Amazon on Friday, Oct. 11. Editor Kenrya Rankin Naasel has a Kickstarter campaign in place to help increase the number of books available for print and is more than halfway to her goal. Naasel says she hopes the book will be a positive contribution to black society and inspire change.
As a woman who was raised by a single black dad who made it his obsessive duty to help his daughters flourish, I think it’s key to tell the rest of the story,” says Naasel. “I don’t deny that there are some dismal statistics out there about single-parent households and stories for days about Black mothers holding it down alone, but I know firsthand that the stereotype doesn’t tell the entire story.
Naasel became inspired by a speech given by President Barack Obama on Father’s Day in 2008 carrying the message, “So I resolved many years ago that it was my obligation to break the cycle–if I could be anything in life, I would be a good father to my girls…” After finding her own story within his message, she set out to share it.
After I saw the president commit himself to the cause with the President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative—and married a man who takes the work of being a daddy as seriously as my own—I was inspired to find more women whose lives had been impacted by strong, Black fathers,” she writes on Kickstarter.
Friday is the last day to donate to the campaign. Read more about the anthology on Colorlines.
BMWK–What experiences within your own life would you share to break the stereotype of absent black fathers?