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There are some new and old trends and situations that are very detrimental to the progress of us as a people.
One particular problem I see is the breakdown of the black family.
Take a moment and think about how many single parents you know or people that were raised in a single parent home.
I was blessed to be raised in a two parent home and I grew up around other people my age that were raised in single parent homes; so I can personally discuss the advantages of having a two parent household.
In these single family households, the father is usually the absentee member.
When the father is absent, besides the obvious negatives, economical strain and more work put on the mother, there are various other issues that can arise.
Of course most people know the father by his "traditional" roles as the provider and protector, but a father also has a tremendous impact on his children, both sons and daughters.
For a woman, her first encounter with a man is usually her father. He is the first man to love her, cherish her and show her worth.
The daughter learns how to love from her father, and it is the father's job to "date" his daughter because she will base her standard of men on how the father treats her.
If you're a woman, think for a second about the similarities between the men you date and your father.
Now of course there is an exception to every rule, however there is an undeniable correlation between how a woman views men and how she views her father.
Also there is a strong correlation between how the father treats the mother in the household, which the daughter will use as a real life example on relationships.
An absent father could cause the daughter to look for that fatherly love in the wrong places or have a negative view of men.
Often today you hear several males proclaiming loudly "I'm a man," without having a clear understanding of what it means to be a man. This understanding must be taught from a man.
The father's role is to teach his son how to be an even better man than himself. But the absence of the father leaves the son alone to try and figure out manhood on his own.
This search for manhood can sometimes take a lifetime.
A son learns several life skills and values from his father, not to mention everyday skills like changing a tire and learning to tie a tie.
One of the most important things the son learns from the father is how to handle relationships with women.
A lot of times men will mimic how the father treats the mother in the household. Similar to the daughter, the son will develop a lot of his views on women from his father.
So, why today do we deprive our children of this essential element that is so vital to their success? Why are single families becoming the majority in the black community?
These days it seems the baby comes way before the ring, if that ring ever comes.
This by no means is a diss to single parents nor is this saying that if you come from a single family home, you will have all of these problems.
This is merely an attempt to describe how much easier it is when both parents are in the home or involved heavily in the child's upbringing.
Father and mother figures can be found in some of the most unlikely places and are vital to our progress.
My prayers for us as a people are that we think heavily about our present day decisions for they truly have a deep impact on our future.
— Taurean Brown is a grad student studying fisheries and wildlife sciences at N.C. State University.
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