We follow up a rave review of Beleaf Melanin's new album, In Fatherhood, with an interview of the artist and popular YouTube dad.Q: You are big on collaborating with friends and family. In the closing song “Baby Daddy,” you speak to the adage "it takes a village" in parenting, but what does that mean to you in terms of creating art?Beleaf: It’s important to come in with a team. I definitely don’t think we were meant to do things alone. I think we can but it’s best to do them as a tribe. A part of a bigger village that’s basically open to changing the world.I started out as a DJ … [Read more...]
Blending Families of Different Races Brings Challenges, Blessings
Successfully blending families through a new marriage requires a lot of patience with the all issues that arise for stepsiblings, stepparents, stepchildren and, many times, ex-spouses. When blending families also means blending race, as my family is, it becomes a balancing act.My wife is white and I am black. From my previous marriage, I have three kids who are of mixed race, black and white. My wife has two boys who are white, also from a previous marriage. This creates a unique dynamic. While many people can forget the differences they see in other races and cultures throughout the day … [Read more...]
Black History Month Reading that Fosters Empathy, ‘Moral Imagination’
When was the last time you celebrated one of your children’s moral milestones? If you’re like me, the answer is probably not nearly as often as you have marked their physical milestones.In her recent book, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our All-About-Me World, Michele Borba laments this phenomenon. “Empathy is widely underestimated by moms and dads, as well as the general public ... in trying to make our children feel good, we tend to focus on their cognitive, social, and physical feats," she writes. "Overlooked are their moral accomplishments like compassion, generosity, … [Read more...]
Melody Ellison: American Girl Enters the Civil Rights Movement
History has a song and sometimes it takes awhile for us to recognize its Melody.I’ve mentioned before that my mother integrated a school, and how I had the opportunity to visit the land that my ancestors worked as slaves, but those stories (and many others like them) can be difficult at times to convey to kids. Sometimes that history becomes unwieldy or difficult because it is so personal. Nonetheless they are crucial stories for us to learn, know, and pass on to the next generation. Sometimes that is done through personal stories, and sometimes that is done through fictional characters … [Read more...]
Transgender Dad Carving Path of Opportunities for Son, Future
Editor's Note: The journey to and through fatherhood of Boston Dads Group member Robbie Samuels offers him a unique perspective on what it means to be a modern dad and raise a son in the 21st century. Here is his story.A magical thing happened on Dec. 15, 2015, at 9:11 p.m. I became a father.While I had been planning for that moment all throughout my wife’s pregnancy — immersing myself in researching baby gear for our registry and reading parenting books — I could not have been prepared for what it felt like when my son finally arrived.That day I joined the brotherhood of … [Read more...]