Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood

by Leonard Pitts Jr.

The fatherless black family is one of America's most damning stereotypes. Part memoir, part social study, Becoming Dad is filled with the moving stories of black men who are struggling valiantly to become the fathers they never had.

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 25, 1999

About the author

Leonard Pitts Jr. was born and raised in Southern California. He is a columnist for the Miami Herald and won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer in 1992. In 1997, Pitts took first place for commentary in division four (newspapers with a circulation of more than 300,000) in the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors' Ninth Annual Writing Awards competition. His columns on the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman have garnered much attention from his peers and readers alike.

Pitts's column, "We'll Go Forward From This Moment," an angry and defiant open letter to the terrorists, generated upwards of 30,000 emails and has since been set to music, reprinted in poster form, read on television by Regis Philbin, and quoted by Congressman Richard Gephardt as part of the Democratic Party's weekly radio address. He is a three-time recipient of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Award of Excellence, a five-time recipient of the Atlantic City Press Club’s National Headliners Award and a seven-time recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Award.

In a career spanning 35 years, Leonard Pitts, Jr. has been a columnist, a college professor, a radio producer, and a lecturer, but if you ask him to define himself, he will invariably choose one word: writer.

He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Julie Christiano]

I am not African-American. I am not a dad. But anything Leonard Pitts cares and writes about deserves to be read.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonard Pitts is such a great writer, and I've been looking forward to reading his book ever since I bought it at one of his lectures several years ago. I just finally got around to it, and it was even better than I expected. The book's subtitle could make it sound like it's written only for black men, but, while he is certainly trying to reach that audience here, it's definitely relevant for everyone. If there were ever a college-level class on what it means to be a caring, responsible adult, this book would be required reading, as that's ultimately what it's about. Pitts goes back and forth between a memoir of his own rocky relationship with his abusive father and interviews with other men from all over the country. He is firm in his beliefs but never preachy, and he is far less interested in placing blame than in exhorting everyone to simply do what is necessary to make sure every kid gets to grow up in a loving environment. I couldn't help thinking back to some of the guys (of many races) I worked with in that writing workshop at the Fort Dodge prison. So many of them reminded me of some of the men in this book: angry at their own fathers' failings, determined to never repeat the same mistakes, and often blind to the irony that they were telling me this after already being arrested for some of the same crimes. As Pitts says, we have to help each other break these devastating cycles because it is not just one race's problem, it is all of our problem, and until we see that and start strengthening the connections between one another, nothing will change.

[Chuck Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done presentation from a man who has lived it. Thought It went on too long, some of the stories didn't add much to his overall point. Wonder how it was received in his own community.

[Shawn L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who is a son of a black father, a black father, or a potential black father.