I would never say if a father doesn’t maintain a relationship with a child be thankful, my point was that we still have to be thankful for the seed, if it were not for the seed, then we wouldn’t have the child or children.

Now regarding Mahogany, this is an extension of Hallmark that markets cards for Black Families, so who but the Black Woman would be the recipient of the “for my mother on father’s day card?”. The Black Woman is becoming the fastest way for everyone to become a millionaire, and again the best way is to play on our emotions(hurt, anger and disappointment).

The bottom line is that, as a female we can only be MOTHERS. As a male, a man can only be a FATHER. There are things about manhood that a man can only learn from a man, and a female’s first relationship with a man should be with her father. Again, regardless if single mothers are holding down the household and taking care of her children, you are a SINGLE MOTHER, not a single mother/father. The same applies for the men, a single father taking care of his children is just that..a single FATHER.

I asked my son why he never gave me a card on Father’s Day and he said because you’re my MOTHER; NOT my father and he hasn’t seen his father in ten years. He is old enough to understand who provides for him, I never speak ill of his father, but even in his mind, he knows the difference, and if any of my children gave my a father’s day card, I would correct them immediately, even if the intent was from the heart, correction would be necessary.

@Glenn, you’re not going to see those type of cards on the mainstream, because there is little to no money in potrayiing Black Men in a positive light. I wonder if one of started cards along those lines, if WE would even support it, because sadly, we support everyone else BUT our own. That’s why towards the end of my article I mentioned the Fathers of the Fatherless and the Fathers of their Community, which includes all the uncles, big brothers, nephews and all the Black Men in general who extend themselves to the children that don’t have a male figure in their lives. Just as I don’t have to have a child to come from my womb in order show love as a mother, the same applies for men, you don’t have to have a child come from your flesh in order to show motherly love. I know many like to focus on the fathers that DON’T take care of their responsibility/children/community, I wanted to focus on the fathers/black men that DO take care of their responsibilities/children/community.

SOme of the comments are disturbing but are strongly indicative of why the divide is so great between some of us. Happy Fathers Day gentlemen! Great article!

To me it is part of the greater destruction and pitting of man against woman.

For one: those cards from Mahogany ARE for the mothers, as she will be the end user of the card when it’s handed to her on Father’s Day. They’re designed to appeal to black women who hold the view that they can fill both gender roles as a mother and a father. And there are NO other cards out there on the market of a similar nature geared towards any other ethnic group. Just black women.

Why do you sisters find it so distasteful to simply give black fathers their props on Father’s day?! You have to always find a way to give out a sly diss, even to the brothers doing right. Nobody says on Mother’s Day: “Shout out to all the mothers out there…who ain’t on welfare”, or “Congrats to all the moms out there who…who know for certain who their baby-daddy is!” When it comes to Mother’s Day, you just get your props and that’s it.

But not for us. Oh no, it has to be: “HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the “real” fathers out there!” What kind of BS is that?!

The sisters who ‘get it’ are usually the ones who also get the decent brother to walk her down the aisle some day. Those of you who don’t can continue to enjoy the false comforts of your own bitterness and blaming all black men for the mistakes that YOU made in judgment and poor choices. By your own actions you prove that loneliness and brief sexual interludes are all that you deserve.

Moreover, I resent the fact that you’ve only addressed the mothers who are man-bashers and those that teach their children to resent their fathers. What you don’t seem to realize is that these cards are not for the mothers themselves. They are for children who want to express how they feel about their mothers. So when you ask “Now why would this appeal to a black woman?”- umm…they’re not. They are appealing to PRODUCTS of a single parent home. Just like you said you bought your mom Happy Father’s Day cards- did your mom go out and buy them? No. You bought them for her because you wanted to express how she’d been there when your father was not. You’re thinking of these cards from a mother’s point of view and not the child’s. It doesn’t matter that my mom is a woman and can never PHYSICALLY be a father, but so what! What about the other dimensions of a person’s wellness- MENTAL, SPIRITUAL, SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL- if mom is filling 5 out 6 where that father is not, then she’s darn good mother AND father.

Another thing that I want to address is this statement “This is more proof that the independent mentality is running wild in our community, and the agenda to keep us separated is working.” These cards are not an AGENDA to keep men and women separated in the black community. They are a REFLECTION of what is present in the black community. Look at the facts. Statistically among African Americans, 2 out of 3 homes are single-parent homes run by a black woman. This is not an effort by Mahogany to paint the black man in a negative light OR to discredit the fathers that support their children or serve as single-parents. This is plain ole’, as College Chick said, Marketing 101. Black women as single parents have become a demographic and this company is only serving that demographic. That’s the cold hard truth.

Great post, but I would take exception to thanking men who “cultivate their seeds” and then leave the child high and dry to fend for him/herself! Anyone can have sex and impregnate a woman; that does NOT make you a father! You are just a male having sex, like dogs and other animals do when seeking another animal to mate with!

I don’t know about the line of cards being used to further increase the divide in our communities. My kids had a deadbeat father and sometimes would call me on Father’s Day to wish me a happy day and express their appreciation for all I did; they don’t anymore, so maybe they outgrew it. I never encouraged it, but could certainly see how they would feel that way.

To his credit, my son stepped up to the plate and is not following in his father’s footsteps. He was just stupid enough to lay with the wrong woman, and now is reaping the consequences. I’m NOT blaming the woman, who is ignorant as all get out, because he could have chosen not to go there–not once, but twice! We all reap what we sow, in this case, two lives hang in the balance. So, you see, my sister, men are NOT blameless! If he is not serious enough about the woman to want her for his mate, he shouldn’t lie with her, or at least make sure he is protected! We all have blame to share in communities being in this condition!