Buy Edo
Language CDs

Learn to Speak
African Languages |
How do modern black media
portray black fathers?
I watched the Clark Sisters movie some months
ago on Netflix and I was a little disturbed about how their father (Elder Elbert
Clark) was portrayed. He was presented as a church elder who was domineering,
not supportive, and abusive. Apart from trying to prevent his daughters from
having a singing career, he divorced his wife over it and had a brief moment in
the audience after his daughters were successful gospel singers. The conclusion
was that he would have prevented the success of the Clark Sisters had they not
had a mother that was strong, determined, and focused.
A counter-cultural perspective from watching
Netflix could be that
Pastor Clark was actually a weak man who had no control of his home. Mrs. Clark
did not only disregard him, but his daughters moved ahead without him despite
the fact that not all the daughters were really interested in the music career
initially. Throughout the rest of the movie, he never attended most of their
concerts, assisted them financially, visit his daughters to check on them, or
helped out with a career decision.
|
 |
 |
What are the
truths about many black fathers?
Contrarily to the Netflix movie, I also
read an article where his granddaughter said that her mother participated in his
church and will always be “Pop Pop”, but was certain that he abused her
grandmother. Another article stated that Elder Clark moved his church to a
poorer neighborhood where he had programs to serve the less-fortunate. This
shows that he was involved with his descendants throughout their successes, went
on to successfully minister God’s Word to the poor, and his descendants also
supported his ministry.
How can modern black media
portray black fathers better?
African-Americans cannot solely put the blame
of racism on others or complain about the brutality or incarceration of black
men, if they are responsible for portraying their successful fathers as weak,
abusive, non-supportive, and irresponsible in their movies and sit-coms when the
truth is actually contrary. No one is perfect, but the world, especially Black
children, need to see the positive contributions of Black fathers to the
successes of their children, family, and communities, if the impression of Black
males should become more respectable to judges, police, politicians, and the
society at large even through Netflix movies. |
 |