Dreams of My Father, is a memoir to which many of us can relate. It is about the son of a black African father and white American mother who searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barrack Obama learns that his father-a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man.
In my particular case, Dreams of my Father has given a new meaning to the word “father”. I first met my father at the tender age of seventeen, during the same time I was becoming a father also. My first son was born two months short of my eighteenth birthday.
Today is June 17, 2010 and we are celebrating Father’s Day in many of the Garífuna communities throughout the Americas. The word that caught my attentions this morning is “fatherhood”, because when you join them together it become a state of “Being.” I can only experience what I am by experiencing what I am not.
Before I continue, allow me to share with you, where I am coming from. This particular statement will not be a surprise for those who I have been around for quite some time, that I have a low self-esteem when it comes down to being a Garífuna father. In the past I would joke around with friends about the failed report card from God on the subject of fatherhood. Therefore this message is meant for anyone who is trying to be a better “Human Being” today than he was yesterday.
Today can be the beginning of a new way of thinking for the fathers in our community. As the great saying goes, “it takes an entire community to raise a child”. Therefore; it is a moral and ethical duty for us to be the fathers in our community.
“Happy Fatherhood Day”
Au-le
Lubara Huya.
No comments:
Post a Comment