Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
Memoir provides an appropriate space in which to see contemporary black fathers in America. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ordinary Light by Tracy Smith, and Negroland by Margo Jefferson show different approaches to the dilemma of black fathers--protecting a victimized child when one is a victim oneself. Each memoir challenges pervading stereotypes of "absent black fathers," by showing fathers standing between their children and racism as long as possible before allowing the child to confront race on its own terms. Their silent stoicism and suffering on behalf of their children marks a fatherly love often unseen. Memoir reveals the unique struggle to fathering a black child and demands readers question their assumptions and see black fathers from an honest perspective.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Dr. Kristin Matthews
Black Fatherhood in America through the Lens of Contemporary Memoir
Memoir provides an appropriate space in which to see contemporary black fathers in America. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Ordinary Light by Tracy Smith, and Negroland by Margo Jefferson show different approaches to the dilemma of black fathers--protecting a victimized child when one is a victim oneself. Each memoir challenges pervading stereotypes of "absent black fathers," by showing fathers standing between their children and racism as long as possible before allowing the child to confront race on its own terms. Their silent stoicism and suffering on behalf of their children marks a fatherly love often unseen. Memoir reveals the unique struggle to fathering a black child and demands readers question their assumptions and see black fathers from an honest perspective.