Raising Black Sons in the UK: the Unheard Voices of Black Fathers

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Existing literature highlights a prevalence of deficit and problem saturated narratives of Black fatherhood. A paucity of literature focusing on the subjective experiences of Black fathers has limited the ability for Black fathers to describe their reality in their own words. Black men and boys occupy unique social positions and Black fathers make distinct and fundamental contributions to the wellbeing and healthy development of their Black sons. Despite this, Black father’s experiences of raising their sons in the UK have been under researched. Given the disparities Black men face across a multitude of systems, research rooted in inclusion, community empowerment and participation have the potential to elevate their voices and drive social change. METHODOLOGY: A social constructionist epistemology and critical realist ontology was used to qualitatively explore Black fathers’ experiences of raising Black sons in the UK. This study was guided by principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR) and African Psychology and was driven by an ethos of community, collaboration and commitment to social change. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was used to situate Black fathers’ experiences within the lens of race, racism, intersectionality and social justice. Ten Black fathers recruited as co-researchers through purposive and snowball sampling took part in focus group discussions. Black fathers were involved in the study design, data collection and analysis of focus group discussions. FINDINGS: Reflective Thematic Analysis was used to develop three overarching themes that represented Black fathers’ lived experiences “Black fathers navigate unique challenges”, “The new era of Black fatherhood” and “The power of collaboration”. Black fathers navigated unique challenges when raising their Black sons such as contending with racialised and gendered experiences which impacted their wellbeing and how they parented their sons. Black fatherhood was influenced by contextual factors such as navigating two cultures, generational differences and shifts in fatherhood roles which led to a new concept of fatherhood. The collaborative nature of this research highlighted the utility of a PAR approach which led to the development of meaningful action rooted in community, empowerment and self-change. IMPLICATIONS: The findings of this research project have implications for interventions and research aimed at supporting Black fathers and young Black boys. Interventions rooted in participation, community and cultural values relevant to Black fathers and their sons will be fundamental in improving their experiences. Clinical recommendations as well as further research suggestions to continue to elevate Black fathers’ voices and generate social change are discussed.