When one thinks of Grammy Award-winning rappers, responsible fatherhood may not be the first thing that comes to mind.
So it might come as a surprise that the respected hip-hop artist Lecrae has joined a group of government employees and activists in an effort to promote fatherhood through music and social media. He has attracted partners such as NBA champion Dwyane Wade to help encourage young men to express what fatherhood means to them in the “This Is Fatherhood” challenge, which launched on May 1.
The challenge is a contest focusing on young fathers who may need extra encouragement and guidance to become better parents. Partners in the initiative hope to promote and nurture fatherhood among these men in this creative way. To sign up for the challenge, contestants can submit videos, songs and essays about fatherhood on www.thisisfatherhood.com from now until June 10 for a chance to win a cash prize.
Winners will also receive a trip to Washington, D.C. for a special ceremony on Father’s Day, June 16.
The minds behind “This Is Fatherhood”
Spearheaded by award-winning filmmaker Art Hooker, and Joshua DuBois, the former director of President Obama’s Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, the This Is Fatherhood challenge is being produced with a nod from the Obama administration, according to Lecrae.
Lecrae, whose 2009 Man Up Campaign included an album and movie dedicated to fatherhood, has a long history of encouraging responsible parenting.
“Fatherhood is a unique opportunity and privilege for a man to change the world through his investment in a child,” Lecrae told theGrio. “It is our chance to leave a legacy and an impact that will change lives.”
The rapper, who has earned critical acclaim in both the hip-hop and gospel worlds, has agreed to provide mentorship and studio time to the winner.
“I am proud to join Lecrae and Dwyane Wade to support the This Is Fatherhood challenge,” DuBois told theGrio. “Our culture is in need of strong fathers now more than ever, and I’m excited that people around the country will be submitting songs, photos, videos and essays describing what fatherhood means to them. Through this challenge, dads will be inspired to increase their commitment to family, and young people everywhere will grow in their awareness of the need for strong fathers.”
Wade throws his support behind the challenge
Even though he is in the middle of the playoffs, Dwyane Wade has also agreed to help promote the challenge, as it is in clear alignment with his commitment to positive fatherhood. Also inspired by President Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, the NBA All-Star’s book A Father First details the role of his father in his life and his own role as a father. Clearly, fatherhood is critical to Wade.
“When I was first [approached to become] involved with the initiative, I was humbled,” Wade said of the This Is Fatherhood challenge. “More than that, I was moved by the fact that one of the reasons President Obama was so passionate about this issue is that he grew up without his dad. He, too, has recognized that being a father is his most important role.”
While the White House is not formally part of the This Is Fatherhood challenge, it was inspired in part by President Obama’s many calls for responsible fatherhood.
President Obama: Inspiration for young dads
President Obama’s Chicago speech on February 16 on gun violence was particularly inspiring to the challenge organizers as it relates to this cause.
“There are entire neighborhoods where young people, they don’t see an example of somebody succeeding,” the president said in that speech. “And for a lot of young boys and young men, in particular, they don’t see an example of fathers or grandfathers, uncles, who are in a position to support families and be held up and respected.”
Without role models, young men are more likely to engage in illegal activities, while men who see themselves as role models are less likely to engage in illegal behavior. A 2002 Department of Justice survey showed that 44 percent of all inmates grew up in a single parent household and that 20 percent had a father who was imprisoned. A Bureau of Justice study states that only 44 percent of inmates with children were living with them prior to their incarceration.
Men bonding to promote fatherhood
Images of Wade, Lecrae, and President Obama appear in a PSA featuring Joaquin Zihuantanejo, an international poetry slam champion, explaining the This Is Fatherhood challenge and its call for creative works dedicated to fatherhood.
Partners of the challenge have similarly used creative outlets to promote fatherhood, as challenge participants are invited to do.
Boston rapper Ed O.G, whose song “Be A Father To Your Child” still stands today as one of hip-hop’s strongest odes to fatherhood, and Tray Chaney, who played Poot on The Wire and has had his rap video “Fatherhood” played on BET, have joined fellow rapper Lecrae in a show of support. By offering guidance and musical assistance to the winners of the challenge, these men hope to encourage entries and positive parenting.
Joining the This Is Fatherhood challenge
Eugene Schneeberg, the Director of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for the Department of Justice, also helped facilitate the This Is Fatherhood challenge. Schneeberg worked with DuBois on the president’s fatherhood program when DuBois was still with the Obama administration. Schneeberg continues to work on the president’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative.
To Schneeberg, this is more than just another positive project.
“For me the issue of father absence is personal and professional,” Schneeberg, also one of the challenge judges, told theGrio. “I’ve never met my father, I’m a father of three and every day I have the honor of working on President Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. I am encouraged to see such a diverse set of groups and individuals throwing their support behind this critically important issue.”
To learn more about the This Is Fatherhood challenge, go to www.thisisfatherhood.com. Submissions are due June 10.
Follow Casey Gane–McCalla on Twitter at @CaseyGane