Black Fathers vs. Slavery

We the (Black) People

Happy Father's Day!

For the dads out there, this episode we're looking at the often-ignored legacy of Black fathers who fought oppressive systems during and after slavery to be dutifully honorable parents in the eyes of their families. My guest is Professor Libra Hilde, author of Slavery, Fatherhood, and Paternal Duty in African American Communities Over the Long Nineteenth Century.

We discuss the harmful stereotypes historians often fall back on when discussing Black fathers, the flexibility and resilience of Black families over time against many obstacles, honorable Black masculinity and paternal duty, the failure of White fathers who raped Black women, and what this history means right now.

In the end, fatherlessness is a systemic, not a racial problem and many Black men have done all that they could to be good fathers.

The advertisement during the show was for the podcast Seizing Freedom.

To learn more, check out Slavery, Fatherhood, and Paternal Duty in African American Communities Over the Long Nineteenth Century by Dr. Libra Hilde!

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)