Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood

by Leonard Pitts Jr.

The fatherless black family is a problem that grows to bigger proportions every year as generations of black children grow up without an adult male in their homes. As this dire pattern grows worse, what can men do who hope to break it, when there are so few models and so little guidance in their own homes and communities? Where can they learn to “become Dad?” When Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Pitts—who himself grew up with an abusive father whose absences came as a relief—interviewed dozens of men across the country, he found both discouragement and hope, as well as deep insights into his own roles as son and father. An unflinching investigation, both personal and journalistic, of black fatherhood in America, this is the best, most pivotal book on this profoundly important issue.

Genres: Nonfiction

263 pages, Paperback

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.