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CHICAGO — Addressing a packed congregation at one of the city’s largest black churches, Senator Barack Obama on Sunday invoked his own absent father to deliver a sharp message to black men, saying “we need fathers to recognize that responsibility doesn’t just end at conception.”
In an address that was striking for its bluntness and where he chose to give it, Mr. Obama directly addressed one of the most delicate topics confronting black leaders: how much responsibility absent fathers bear for some of the intractable problems afflicting black Americans. Mr. Obama noted that “more than half of all black children live in single-parent households,” a number that he said had doubled since his own childhood.
“Too many fathers are M.I.A., too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes,” Mr. Obama said to a chorus of approving murmurs from the audience. “They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
This is a controversial subject, I know. And I hope we can keep it civil.
Thoughts?
Originally posted by Karlhungis
reply to post by jamie83
I guess you missed all of the backlash that Bill Cosby got from the black community for saying the same thing. It is a controversial subject.
"But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.
You and I know how true this is, ["especially"*] in the African-American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households..."
"...even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers – whether we are black or white; rich or poor; from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb. "
Text
Originally posted by HarlemHottie
He did not single out black men.
"But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.
You and I know how true this is in the [*especially] African-American community. We know that more than half of all black children live in single-parent households..."
"...even as we face difficult circumstances, there are still certain lessons we must strive to live and learn as fathers – whether we are black or white; rich or poor; from the South Side or the wealthiest suburb. "
Text
Originally posted by jamie83
I'm confused. You said he did not single out black men, but...
Even with the "especially" added it's still sounding like he's saying the problem is worse in regard to black men.
It’s a wonderful thing if you are married and living in a home with your children, but don’t just sit in the house and watch “SportsCenter” all weekend long. That’s why so many children are growing up in front of the television. As fathers and parents, we’ve got to spend more time with them, and help them with their homework, and replace the video game or the remote control with a book once in awhile. That’s how we build that foundation.
We know that education is everything to our children’s future. We know that they will no longer just compete for good jobs with children from Indiana, but children from India and China and all over the world. We know the work and the studying and the level of education that requires.
The overarching theme of the speech was: Fathers, be there for your kids, either in body or in mind, and teach them the values of excellence and empathy. You do your part, and the government will do ours.
We should be making it easier for fathers who make responsible choices and harder for those who avoid them. We should get rid of the financial penalties we impose on married couples right now, and start making sure that every dime of child support goes directly to helping children instead of some bureaucrat. We should reward fathers who pay that child support with job training and job opportunities and a larger Earned Income Tax Credit that can help them pay the bills. We should expand programs where registered nurses visit expectant and new mothers and help them learn how to care for themselves before the baby is born and what to do after – programs that have helped increase father involvement, women’s employment, and children’s readiness for school. We should help these new families care for their children by expanding maternity and paternity leave, and we should guarantee every worker more paid sick leave so they can stay home to take care of their child without losing their income.
Again, text
We should reward fathers who pay that child support with job training and job opportunities and a larger Earned Income Tax Credit
Originally posted by HarlemHottie
Um... that's not what he said.
He did not single out black men.
Originally posted by dgtempe
I hope, as undecided as i am, that he gets the presidency and not
Bush #2, McCain. Obama is now our only hope.
Originally posted by menguard
You know the Irony in this is that it will probably be a BLACK MAN that assasinates him if he makes it into the Oval office.
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
*What* is not what he said? I quoted an article.
Originally posted by HarlemHottie
For clarity's sake, the quote would have been more apparent if you had put it in quotation marks. As it stands, it appears as though they're your words.
So, now, instead of a conversation about fathers spending more time with their kids and raising them right, we're talking about black fathers, again.
Remember, black people are a minority, so whose ineptitude at parenting will have the larger effect on the country, numerically? The majority's.
Originally posted by HarlemHottie
The overarching theme of the speech was: Fathers, be there for your kids, either in body or in mind, and teach them the values of excellence and empathy. You do your part, and the government will do ours.
Originally posted by HarlemHottie
You do your part, and the government will do ours.
Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I still don't know what you're referring to.
That's a good thing because people who might be afraid of Obama because of his race might have second thoughts about their fears. Do you see what I mean?
Don't you agree that it would be a great improvement for the black community if the percentage of fathers who abandon their children would decrease to the same percentage of white fathers who abandon their children?
But should the percentages be more equal?
We NEED to talk about black fathers.
If 50% of white kids were growing up without a father, we'd damn sure be talking about that.