When I watch TV, I rarely see black men fighting for their children. Since my TV viewing is limited, I can only speak on the court shows, talk shows and other shows I used to watch.
The portrayals I found were:
- Court shows are full of mothers suing fathers for nonpayment of child support.
- The father either doesn’t work or is a street hustler and pays when he can or not at all.
- Maury Povich…I have no words.
The bad thing is, black men as a group are judged as deadbeat dads based on the images of the few ignorant people shown on TV. It’s not fair, but that’s life.
TVs and movies rarely show RESPONSIBLE black fathers as the primary caregivers of their children (Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith is an exception). They also rarely show how mothers intentionally do things to keep their children away from fathers who are willing to provide and care for their babies. They choose to highlight the negative.
Well, I would like to commend two of my friends who have spent countless hours in court and loads of money fighting for their children. I have much love and respect for both because I personally know their struggles. Allow me to introduce Demond Fagan and Leon Green (Charles) .
Demond has gone through his challenges with few complaints. There were trying times, but through it all, he only complained about the situation. He has missed work; left early and arrived late to get custody of his children. Even when he thought it was over, he was back there again. I’m pleased to report that he was victorious, and he has emotional bumps and bruises as well as a huge bill from his lawyer as proof, but he is a happy father with his babies.
Charles is still going through drama, but he refuses to back down. He always says, “I want my kids,” and he’s doing what he can to get them. He loves his boys, but their mother is scandalous. She’ll make plans for the boys when Charles have scheduled to pick them up. She took away the oldest son’s phone so he couldn’t speak with his dad. It’s a trick. But, Charles is being a responsible man by putting up with the mess. He has even more fight because of his challenges with his daughter.
I just had to share Demond and Charles’ stories because I know they would probably never be seen on TV as they do not fit the deadbeat dad images shown on TV and in movies. And, they are truly exceptional on so many levels.