“Remain calm, negotiate or defer but by all means, call me”: Father-son communication to keep sons safe from violence involvement and victimization

Abstract

The role of fathers in the lives of young men has been explored extensively in the literature (Perry, 2017; Alleyne-Green, Grinnell-Davis, Clark, & Cryer-Coupet, 2015; Coley & Medeiros, 2007). However, Black fathers, and particularly those of boys who live in adverse circumstances, are often perceived as being uninvolved or without direct influence on the day-to-day functioning of their sons. As Black boys attempt to navigate stressful encounters associated with community violence and encounters with law enforcement, adequate social capital should be considered as it relates to the acquisition of skills needed to remain safe and maintain wellbeing. Additionally, spatial disadvantage, which often contributes to the reproduction of the human capital failures and losses, confines these youth within largely contiguous impoverished neighborhoods and positions BYOC as more vulnerable to possible seduction and/or victimization via interpersonal, gang, and community violence; it also increases the likelihood that they will be victims of racial profiling by law enforcement. Black fathers and father figures are routinely viewed as perpetrators of the violence that their sons may experience within their neighborhoods (Perry & Johnson, 2017). However, fathers that are present are not recognized as assets or resources to aid their sons in being safe and maintaining wellbeing (Richardson, 2010).Qualitative pilot findings emerging from 27 father-son dyads in the Fathers and Sons Communication Study suggest that Black fathers and father figures serve as assets or sources of family-based social capital in helping their sons to avoid violence and remain safe (Johnson, Rich, & Keene, 2016; Richardson, 2010). They do so by: having difficult conversations related to the pervasive threat of violence at the hands of fellow neighborhood and community residents; reassuring their sons that they are loved and as fathers (or father figures) they are available to help them successfully triumph over such threats to their safety; and by offering key strategies to navigate the nuanced distinctions in responding to tense and potentially violent interactions with gangs and community violence perpetrators, police and other law enforcement figures.Since Black fathers who have themselves grown up under adverse circumstances have likely experienced gang and community violence, police harassment and detention, and/or racially motivated violence, they may function as an asset and protective factor for boys' safety and wellbeing in ways in which sons identify as a trustworthy source of information on which to rely. Fathers and father figures of Black boys who face high-risk circumstances provide unique insight into the experience of being a male living and surviving in the same or similar context. Findings from the current study offer a new perspective on how Black fathers' involvement contributes to the social development of Black boys, particularly behavioral adjustments and coping strategies in the face of biased and/or adversarial encounters with peers, community residents and law enforcement personnel.