They’re men like Alexander Langford, an Atlanta-based author and baby boomer who, at age 40, felt the importance of raising a Black child in America mattered more than whether he had a mate along for the ride. Among them are an increasingly visible number of gay men and male figures, many of them casting aside traditional timelines and methods of creating their family and redefining when and how one should become a parent. This spring, millions of men will celebrate Father’s Day as single dads, part of a trend that has exploded over the past few decades.
Among the most useful “P,' many would agree, is a partner-someone to nudge at night for their turn to bottle feed, take on soccer practice duties or handle any of the other million tasks that come with raising a child to adulthood.Īnd yet for Black gay men, the dearth of marriage-worthy partners has put the dream of a nuclear family far out of reach. From pampers and potties to pimples and proms, anyone who’s raised another human will tell you there are a lot of “Ps” that come along with parenting.
