ABSTRACT
The contributors to this volume share some poignant stories about the impact of African American fathers’ presence and absence in the daily lives of children. They discuss paternal involvement in spite of odds against it, the impact of that involvement, and the struggle to maintain it. The contributors speak of some models of engagement that have worked and others that are struggling to work. There is no doubt that males who father children must be responsible to and for those children. They must support them in numerous ways, including providing for their children’s material and emotional needs over many years and often providing for the needs of children who are not biologically their own. Ideally, African American males should be well on their way to becoming healthy, capable men before becoming fathers.
