I sent award winning journalist, Ed Gordon a Happy Father's Day message.
He responded with a message about this initiative he is spear-heading called Daddy's Promise.
I am reminded, today, of the limited relationship I had with my father. That resulted in a limited relationship with his side of my family. I tried, for years, to see him after we moved out of the house he shared with my mother and siblings, until I got a card that was machine signed from him for my Christmas card when I was away at college. That hurt.
So I finally had to accept that when my parents divorced, my father seemingly divorced me, too. I had taken my young sons to see him in Philadelphia, but when he died I was cut off from any inheritance by his relatives who surmised that I deserved nothing. I was the one who had had to reach out to him from when I was 5 years old. He never reciprocated, but to their eyes, since they found some thank-you notes for small cash gifts he had given me (My mother insisted on notes for gifts), he had done his job.
I can tell you, he did not. But I overcame his negligence because my mother stepped up. She paid for piano lessons, for dance classes, for art classes, for college. I earned honors and grants and scholarships and worked as soon as I could get a job. She took care of me when I was ill. My dear sister, Yvonne, took up the slack my mother could not handle, feeding me, taking me places, singing songs with me and reading me books. And my brother, Reggie, took me to college and picked me up. He met me at the train station or airport when I came home for visits. He intimidated my few boyfriends. Chores my dad could have done, but never did.
A father must always be a parent to his child, no matter what happens between him and his daughter's mother!
So, Ed Gordon, a helluva man, talented, passionate, very good looking, an art lover and collector, is also a great dad! (had a tough time with ordering of the list...started with good-looking and then art lover, but did not want to insult his intelligence or artists' bread and butter....)
HAPPY FATHER"S DAY to my husband, the father of two sons who possesses all the attributes Ed does.
From Ed Gordon's website. Please read.
Award-winning broadcast journalist, Ed Gordon created Daddy’s Promise, an initiative designed to focus the attention of the African-American community on the positive relationship that can and should exist between fathers and daughters. Through a national campaign and a series of community engagements, including a father/daughter dance that will take place during Father's Day weekend 2009, the initiative will encourage fathers to be actively involved in their daughters’ lives. The movement gives this relationship a voice and creates a nationwide conversation with African-American families, ultimately celebrating fathers and father figures.
Daddy’s Promise
includes a symbolic component that will encourage men to sign a pledge
and make a public acknowledgment of love and support for their
daughters. It also consists of principles and guidelines to assist in
fostering positive relationships between fathers and daughters.
The Father/Daughter relationship has a significant impact on the many
ways social and familial bonds are formed and the way girls grow up to
be strong, confident women. To that end, Daddy’s Promise is a sustainable program that:
- Encourages African-American fathers to take greater interest in their daughters’ lives,
- Builds self-esteem in young girls and teaches them to be productive citizens,
- Salutes the importance of the father’s role in the full development in his daughter’s life and the tremendous impact he has in shaping her,
- Creates dialogue among families as a first step in establishing healthy relationships between girls and the men who help raise them—fathers, grandfathers, father figures and mentors, thereby strengthening African-American families as a whole.
Daddy's Promise | About Ed Gordon | Contact us at admin@daddyspromise.com
