I've always hated the whole "Black men are deadbeat dads" narrative. For lack of a better term, it's really stupid. And harmful. And wrong. I take issue with people consistently making these "jokes" about Black fatherhood that only perpetuate stereotypes and keep the racist American culture alive.
According to this article on Vox.com, the majority of Black fathers do live with their kids, contrary to popular belief. And if your issue is with incarcerated fathers, take it up with the prison and police system that targets Black men disproportionately. The fact of the matter is that some people have dads, some people don't. Some people have moms, but not everyone. These people fall in every category, abandonment and/or death don't discriminate.
When someone (and this has, in fact, happened) assumes that my father isn't in the picture, I am at a loss for words. I live in a two-parent household, but not everyone does. Because I am a decent human being however, I realize that it sucks when people repeatedly make jokes about traumatic life experiences. Especially when those jokes are based on something that you cannot control.
This speaks more to a lack of human decency than racism, but it is one example of a tasteless joke at the expense of Black people. These jokes and sly comments are microaggressions, or simply put:diet racism. We must all be making a conscious effort to unlearn biases and teach friends and family to do the same. Rethink your so-called "comedy" and have a Happy Father's Day.
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