A distinguished panel spoke on April 29th at AEI about improving opportunity for black men in America. A particularly interesting exchange took place between Kathryn Edin of Johns Hopkins University and Robert Cherry of Brooklyn College that highlights a difficult dilemma for social policymaking.
When questioned by a member of the audience to identify policies that can gain support and help black men, Kathryn Edin responded:
Every child should have a mom and a dad and each father should be honored and treated as though his contribution is important. These dads are not, many of them, are not all thugs. That is just not true.
If you want to motivate a man of color, talk to that man about his kids. What we have neglected in this country is how much men of color have embraced fatherhood. But of course just at the time they have embraced it they are less likely to claim it in a meaningful way.
Robert Cherry took issue with her characterization:
This notion based on what men say is problematic. Whatever their rhetoric, their behavior speaks much differently. It’s a balancing act we have to take. I believe they are being genuine, that they are not lying. But we should have no illusion that that is their behavior. We have to take a much more honest approach based on their behavior rather than how they respond to interviews.
Both are correct. Research, such as Dr. Edin’s, demonstrate that there are many low-income men of color who embrace fatherhood and want to support their children. At the same time, many display destructive behaviors, especially when they form new relationships. As Dr. Cherry recently wrote:
When fathers form new romantic partnerships, their involvement with children from previous relationships declines. Jo Jones and William Mosher report that, while 39% of fathers in new romantic relationships had shared a meal with their non-custodial 5- to 18-year-old children at least once in the past month, 62% of those not in a new romantic relationship had. While 55% of fathers in a new romantic relationship had spoken with their 5- to 18-year-old non-custodial children, 77% of those not in a new romantic relationship had.
In addition, men with less education are more likely to exhibit absent-father behavior. Whereas 70% of fathers with at least some college had talked to their non-custodial 5- to 18-year-old children at least once in the past month, 59% of those with no more than a high-school degree had done so. While 74% of fathers with at least some college had played with their non-custodial child under 5 years old at least once in the past month, only 53% of those fathers with no more than a high-school degree had.
Social policy makers face a difficult task in trying to develop policies that address the reality of these behaviors. Fragile families in need of social programs are not homogenous and social service programs must balance the need to be strict for some and supportive for others. The recent AEI panel eloquently highlighted the difficulties of this balancing act.
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