RSS Feed
Newsletter
Widget
Michelle Obama Salutes Fathers with Courage to Step Up
Published by Pamela Gentry on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 10:12 am.By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst
June 22, 2009 – The First Lady Michelle Obama sent a special message this weekend telling folks to “celebrate responsible fatherhood and the men who’ve had the courage to step up,” including her father and her husband.
“My father, Frasier Robinson, was the rock of our family. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion and our hero,” she wrote.
While the president’s relationship with his father wasn’t the same, it still played a great influence on the type of father the president is today, she observed. “Barack didn’t have my good fortune — his father left when he was just two years old. But he has always been determined to give our daughters what he never had, and he values being a good father more than any other accomplishment in his life.”
The president has written and spoken openly about his relationship with his father and the importance of fathers taking responsibility: his message this year was the same.
“In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill,” the president said.
“That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.”
Mrs. Obama’s message on Sunday introducing her husband’s Father’s Day message continued the call for responsibility. “So today, on this 100th anniversary of Father’s Day, take a moment to celebrate responsible fatherhood and the men who’ve had the courage to step up, be there for our families, and provide our children with the guidance, love and support they need to fulfill their dreams,” she said.
It was clear the “first parents” want to see more fathers take an active role in the lives of their children. That message was delivered loud and clear.
But it may be a challenge for some fathers. According to a study by Families and Living Arrangements: 2006 , there were 12.9 million one-parent families in 2006 — 10.4 million single-mother families and 2.5 million single-father families. Among African Americans, 63 percent of households are headed by single-parents, almost double their White counterparts.
Good Afternoon! “Michelle Obama Salutes Fathers with Courage to step Up.”
hello after reading this article i do believe and understand what you just said because fathers do need to stand up and be a father.
Pamaela … I know i come on here from time to time with not-so-positive support. BUT COME ON, what the hell does Michelle Obama have to do with polotics. THIS IS THE WEEKEST POLITICAL COMMENTARY ON THE NET. no hard hitting tough questions no probing the congress and or the Senate..oops.
NOTHING….. This is like POLITICAL TMZ. I CAN TOTALLY TELL THIS IS THE POST FROM A WOMENS POINT OF VIEW…
STEP YA GAME UP.. WE ARE COUNTING ON A REAL POLITICAL WEBSITE. NOT THESE CRAPY TOPICS.
I WILL CONTINUE TO RETURN BECAUSE IM LOOKING FOR YOU TO BRING REAL POLITICS TO THIS SITE, I NEED IT.
WILL THIS EVER HAPPEN, OR IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS POST TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL WARM AND FUZZY.
IF IT IS… THEN THAT HELPS MY DISAPOINTMENT AND I WON’T FEEL SO CHEATED WHEN I VISIT OTHER POLITICAL PAGES.
HI MISS OBAMA AND THANK YOU FOR EVERY THING YOU AND YOUR HUSBAND HAS DONE TO BETTER OUR COMMUNITIUES I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF HARD WORK TO DO BUT WITH DEDICATION WE CAN DO IT IN GOD WE CAN ONLY TRUST TO CARRY US THROUGH. IWANT YYOU ALL TO KNOW THAT THEIR ARE A MANY OF US THAT TRY SO HARD BUT WE COME UP SHORT BECAUSE WE ARE CONSIDERD NO ONE BEFORE GIVING US A CHANCE TO PROVE WE ARE A BETTER PEOPLE,TAKE ME FOR EXAMPLE I HAVE HAD A WORSE UP BRINGING AND AS A CHILD I MADEE SOME HORRIBLE MISTAKES AND THOSE MISTAKES HAVE TAKEN MY LIFE AWAY FROM ME TO THE POINT THAT WHEN I FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND MY BACK GROUND COMES UP I AM ALREADY CONSIDERD AS A NO-NO AND I FEEL HURT AND MY KIDS FEEL THE SAME WAY WHEN THERE FATHER CANT PROVIDE THE THINGS THAT OTHER KIDS HAVE NOR CAN THEY BE HAPPY AND CONTENT BECAUSE THEY DONT HAVE THE THINGS THAT THEY DESERVE AND WE PUSH THEM SO HARD BUT WE CANT BACK IT UP BECAUSE WE PEOPLE WITH CRIMINAL BACK GROUNDS ARE NOT GIVEN A CHANCE TO BECOME PRODUCTIVE ADULTS IN THIS SOCIETY. IT’S NOT FAIR TO US THAT TRY SO HARD TO MAINTAIN COMPOSURE AND STABILITY SO MA’AM IF YOU CAN PLEASE SEND US YOUR HANDS SO THAT WE CAN ALSO HELP BUILD UP THIS NATION.
who wants to be a father in this economy? not me
@Thweatt
Hang in there. One day Pamela might take off her cheerleading outfit, throw down her pom-poms and write a serious article. Media needs to be questioning politicians instead of being their mouthpiece.
*
In regards to fathers, Michelle is right. Men need to be leaders not hustlers!
Black men stand up (Right)!
Who cares!!! My boyfriend thinks the same with me. He is eight years older than me, lol. We met online at ~~~ http://www.AgelessMatch.com ~~~ a nice and free place for younger women and older men, or older women and younger men, to interact with each other. You may wanna check it out.