To All My Sons

There’s a prevailing narrative within our society when it comes to Black men, one which was spelled out in detail more than fifty years ago, but which continues to sit right at home in our country’s family of stereotypes about Blackness. The narrative goes that Black men don’t stick around to parent the children we father.

Shaka Senghor is out to change that narrative. His most recent book, Letters to the Sons of Society, is written as a collection of letters to his own two sons, born twenty years apart. Shaka’s oldest son grew up without him present – he was born six months after Shaka entered prison for a murder he committed when he was 19. His younger son was born after Shaka was released, and he grew up with a father who was a successful author and constant loving presence in his life. The book traces Shaka’s journey as a Black man in America and aims to unpack the toxic and misguided messages about masculinity, mental health, love, and success that boys learn from an early age.

This week on Into America, host Trymaine Lee speaks with author and activist Shaka Senghor about fatherhood and how we teach our sons to be men.

For a transcript, please visit msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

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Further Listening: 

• Fathers of the Movement
• My Dad, Rodney King