Today’s en vogue language concerning a person’s lived experiences involves the master narrative, or commonly understood ways of being.  And for Black folk, Black men and boys in particular, there is a default understanding of us as being bound within an urban narrative.  Certainly, mainstream music and moving images celebrate the hard-scrabbled city life that Black boys and Black men are assumed to grow up in.  It is romantic to many, the idea of wrestling the cityscape to achieve against the odds. It is largely a myth, however, insomuch as the lived experiences of Black people is diverse and increasingly involves a pronounced class that lives in suburban areas.

These suburban areas, in turn, are diverse and place unique demands on the psyche of Black people.  W.E.B. Du Bois historically explained the pull of Black folk having to attend to a mainstream and to a Black cultural experience.  While Black identity pioneer William Cross described the behavioral adaptation to this polarity through code switching between the two realities articulated by Du Bois.

The puzzle is not a new one then, how to navigate a Black cultural experience and one that is more broadly explained as “American” without losing self in the process.  The key is found in realizing that our self, our identities are both uniquely Black and typically American. Indeed – to paraphrase Langston Hughes – we, too, sing America.

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And grasping this reality gives us permission, in many ways, to be more Black by filling our self with experiences that are beyond the arrested development that many assume we need to attach ourselves to.  It is important for us to be in settings that are not “typically” Black or urban, because it helps to grow the understanding of what and how Black Americans are – we are more than that master narrative.  Our identities are made robust by exposure.

So then, fathers have the responsibility to present more to their sons than the expectations of Black masculinity that are found in the city story.  This is done carefully by qualifying suburban schooling, trips to the lake, golfing, lacrosse and that summer jaunt to Ethiopia as components of Black liberation.  Though it might sound like a bit of a stretch, having Black bodies occupy these spaces pushes us into healthy living beyond the margins.  Thinking and doing in this way eradicates the foolish notion of being smart and accomplished as being “white” by connecting Black identification to a world culture that is in service to Black people in urban and suburban areas alike.

No doubt, this is easier said than done.  But this is living, and we have a right and responsibility to push against the sensibilities of racism that suggest we belong elsewhere than everywhere.

Contributor – David Wall Rice, Ph. D

Research Scientist and College Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department, Morehouse College.

Follow David Wall Rice on twitter @Dwallrice

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American Politicians are noted for holding babies. It’s a tradition that’s said to have begun in 1828 with Andrew Jackson, according to The Atlantic. But just how many can teach you how to cradle a baby? The answer: Barack Obama can. A recent image of the 44th President doing such captures just how it’s done.

The cradle hold. This is perhaps the most common way to hold your baby and a great way to gaze into the new baby’s eyes; it’s also the most natural and easiest way to hold your baby. It’s easiest to hold your baby this way when the baby is swaddled. Here’s what you should do:

• To cradle hold your baby, first lay your baby down and pick it up by sliding one hand under the neck and head, and the other under the bottom and hips.
• Spread your fingers as much as you can as you lift her to your chest so you can support the baby as much as possible.
• Gently slide the hand supporting her head and neck along her back, so that her head and neck slide along your forearm, making their way into the crook of your arm and elbow.
• Keep your other hand where it was, cupping your baby’s hips and bottom.
• Bring the baby close to your body and gently rock her back and forth, if you like.

“The movie of your life is only as successful as the people who you allow to play roles in it” – DeVon Franklin

Uncle Kenny, Papa and David Glover. As you sit with Sony Pictures film executive, Devon Franklin, you’d imagine these to be the names of characters in a script to be developed and possibly green lit. They are not. Instead they are actual people, based many miles away from the flashing lights of tinsel town and the hills of Hollywood, California. Key players in the trajectory of a young man raised, one of three children, all boys, by a single mother in Oakland, California.

  Upon entering his office you are greeted by an array of movie posters, awards, magazine covers and a framed picture of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. . On this day Devon Franklin describes the sudden death of his father, and the role that a small group of men played in serving as models of what it meant to be a man. King, who described himself as a drum major for justice, is a fitting presence in the office of Franklin, a drum major for faith of sorts. That faith is described in Franklin’s book, Produced by Faith, released in 2011.

The book analogizes faith in God, combined with action, to the creation and development of a successful movie. As for Devon’s movie; the one that has taken him from Oakland to the highest realms of Hollywood, he takes a moment to share how his mother’s foresight to entrust the examples provided by a small group of men have instilled in him characteristics, lessons and values that he carries everywhere.

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“The purpose of education is to be informed so that you can then in fact turn around and impact.” – David Banks

Responses to a recent reading challenge presented by entertainer, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson to boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather, whether accurate in its assessment of the boxer’s ability to read or not, reveals the extent to which many have allowed ourselves to place greater value on monetary success and fame than intellectual curiosity and reading comprehension. To that extent, studies show that in national tests more than 67 percent of all US fourth graders scored “below proficient,” meaning they are not reading at grade level. * (Source: Students First) But do we send children to school to get good jobs, or to master their intellectual curiosity in ways that will shape the world in greater ways; or is it a combination of both?  Most of all, how can we ensure the best outcomes?

Creating the next generation of informed innovators and agents of change is no small proposition. This month CEO and Founder of Eagle Academy, David Banks -who has advised Hillary Clinton and Cory Booker on scholastic issues – provides insight on the things men and fathers can do to ensure the best results as it relates to their children’s education and future.

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It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Likewise here’s a look at a father who has devised a creative way to place his daughter’s hair in a bun. So as you begin your Saturday, and if a more skillful person is not around, why not be creative. In the end you’ll never know how it will turn out, and provided that you don’t harm a hair on your baby’s head….it’s the thought, effort and experience that truly count.

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FROM FATHERLESS TO FATHERHOOD – Trailer from The Kobie Chronicles. on Vimeo.

Terry Crews was recently on “The View” and shared his opinion on how every child needs a father. I don’t think there was anything wrong with his comment and he’s right. It’s just that as a society, we’ve gotten comfortable in letting children be raised in single parent homes or by their grandparents; when a child really needs their mother and father. Both provide unique perspectives, expertise and value in nurturing, discipline, guidance, teaching and creating a better tomorrow.

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STREAM FROM FATHERLESS TO FATHERHOOD HERE:

FROM FATHERLESS TO FATHERHOOD – Trailer from The Kobie Chronicles. on Vimeo.