Sent to you by Tee via Google Reader: Obama and the Black Daddy Dilemma via Black Politics on the Web by The Admin on 6/17/09
Melissa Harris-Lacewell, The Nation - Father’s Day is fast approaching and I have been thinking about President Obama’s relationship to black fatherhood. His loving engagement with his daughters is the very embodiment of idealized male parenting. Michelle Obama even encouraged us to link Barack’s fatherhood to his capacity for political leadership. At the DNC convention she retold the story of Barack driving her and their first child home from the hospital- carefully navigating the difficult terrain of Chicago’s snowy streets. Michelle encouraged us to see that he could similarly act as a father for the nation, safely steering our country through an uncertain future. It was an effective metaphor. In his role as “good” father, Obama has been critical of “bad” fathers. During his campaign Barack Obama appalled some in the African American community during a guest sermon at a black church when harshly criticized absent black fathers. To some this criticism seemed liked a cheap and easy way for Obama to distance himself from black communities in order to gain white votes. His goal may have been racially strategic, but I suspect that Obama sincerely believes in the absolute centrality of black fathering. Click here for more… ShareThis Things you can do from here: - Subscribe to Black Politics on the Web using Google Reader - Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
