Do you know that the United States reports more than 80% of households (over 18 million) are fatherless, ranking first among countries with the highest rate of children raised in single-parent households?

This is important because systemic inequalities, slavery, and racism shape the history of fatherhood in the United States, and the stereotype of the “absent father” is often unfairly imposed on Black and Hispanic men.

While the image of the “absent father” is persistent, the reality, as reported in 2021 by the Centers for Disease Control, is that:

• 75% of self-identifying Caucasian men have two children;

• 72% of self-identifying Caucasian men sired a child out of wedlock;

• 49.4% of the total child population self-identifies as Caucasian;

• 43% of children awaiting adoption self-identify as Caucasian; and

• The rate of Caucasian children born out of wedlock triples every fifteen years.

And, although 57.6% of Black children and 31.2% of Hispanic children live without their biological fathers:

• 27% of Black fathers and 20% of Hispanic fathers shuttle their children to and from daily activities;

• 40% of Black fathers and 29% of Hispanic fathers help their children with homework daily;

• 70% of Black fathers and 60% of Hispanic fathers bathe, dress, change, and help their children with toileting daily; and

• 78% of Black fathers and 74% of Hispanic fathers dine with their children daily.

Because fatherhood encompasses the experiences, challenges, and complexities of minority men, including the historical context, social expectations, and diverse ways in which they engage, check out the following Substacks hosted by fathers:

Escape the Plantation, hosted by

Escape the Plantation!

🤬 READER DISCRETION ADVISED 🤬Veteran🎖️ Retired Fed 👨🏾 Uncommon sense applied to the events of our lives. Not seeking literary acclaim. Not giving “thoughts and prayers.”

By jtolbertjr

Raising Myles, hosted by

Raising Myles

A first-time dad writes letters to his newborn son, Myles, every Monday, sharing the joy he didn't experience himself with the world. Inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me."

By Marc Typo

Thomas Kneeland Poetry, hosted by

Thomas Kneeland Poetry

Poetry is a home, and my hope is that we can see poems as a way of finding home after wandering for so long. Come for the poetry. Stay for humanity.

By Thomas Kneeland, MA, MFA