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For all of the talk about addressing fatherlessness, there needs to be more action towards fixing the economic, academic, and societal issues that support it

Over the weekend or so, we will continue to hear about the epidemic around Black America concerning the lack of fathers in the lives of a majority of our youth.

And, tragically , we will highlight this issue around Father’s Day weekend, fade the volume of the calls for action by the time the grill kicks up for the 4th of July weekend, and we won’t say anything again until another young person loses her or his life in a tragic situation in our neighborhoods.

However, I implore you to not be dismayed at the daunting task ahead of us – we can and we will fix our communities for the better. At the same time, do not be fooled into the current rhetoric about the proposed symptoms or solutions around the problem of fatherlessness in America.

This is an issue that impacts Black America greatly. At the same time, with the divorce rates and the out-of-wedlock rates that we see across the diversity of the nation, this issue of children without fathers is an American problem, not just a Black problem.

Don’t believe the hype. Fatherlessness has been ripping apart all of America – and without the proper approaches to remedy the problem, our children and our national future remain jeopardized.

For example, in my hometown of Pittsburgh, roughly half of the households are headed by a single parent, with the vast majority not having a father in the home. The numbers are worse for Blacks living in the Steel City, as roughly 70% of African-American children in our region live in a single parent household headed by a female, a clip that ranks at the very worse in the nation. These numbers are replicated across the nation, often across socioeconomic levels, demographics, and racial delineations.

Couple that with the reality that over 4 million single mothers and their families live in poverty, especially after the Great Recession. It’s clear that as the problem of fatherlessness permeates throughout Pittsburgh and the nation, we face an issue that is much more than just about broken relationships and divorce rates. Until we fix some of the American problems that affect the vulnerable across America, we will not be able to eradicate fatherlessness in America.

A triumph for wage fairness and career pathways cannot take the form of merely raising salaries for dead-end jobs. Until we see dads on the path of more true career opportunities and not on the front lines fighting for $15 an hour wages in the fast food industry, we likely won’t see a chance in the family dynamic in America.

Political battles to protect the status quo in primary education strip our ability to elevate the dynamic that impacts young boys at critical times of development in school, in dating situations, and in potential mentoring opportunities. Until we see young boys in better schools and surrounded by more profound influences in a daily basis, we likely won’t see more future fathers with the resources to be a good man, be a good domestic partner, and – as a result – be a good father.

It must also be a change in the courts of public opinion and family justice as well. As along as many men – as well as much of American society – views fatherhood as an optional occurrence in the lives of children after divorce or relationship breakups, we can never truly be great in the 21st century. We will continue to lose the geopolitical, geo-economic, and geo-academic competitions that we find ourselves lagging in over recent times. Economic policies can be cultivated to encourage family stability as we endure these tough times, reversing the father emigration prompted by programs such as the Great Society. Family courts must change their culture to eliminate the winners and losers mindset often found in custody situations. There must be more de facto custody agreements that keep both parents as equal positive influences in a child’s life. Children are not awards with purse strings for a winning litigant irregardless of one’s parenting capabilities or willingness.

These are just some examples. The issue of fatherlessness is not an issue that lives outside of the societal parameters of employment, economics, education, and attitudes that impacts so many other issues in America. We talk about fatherlessness from a racial perspective, but we are unwilling to also talk about the impact of racism on factors that prompt fatherlessness in many communities. If we are going to fix the issue, we must address all of its root causes, not just the surface cause of a boy not acting like a man. Yes – we must get our young boys to respect our young girls and the challenge of fatherhood more – and we should take Father’s Day weekend to step up our game. At the same time, if we are serious about fixing the problem of fatherlessness, we need to get busy in fixing the broken systems around us throughout America so that we can truly fix our broken homes within America.

Lenny McAllister is a political analyst and commentator featured on various local, national and international outlets including Al Jazeera America, CNN, the American Urban Radio Network, and Sun News Network. The Pittsburgh-based pundit hosts and produces NightTalk: Get to the Point on the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel on Friday nights. He is also a host at Newsradio 1020 KDKA in Pittsburgh, appearing June 13 from noon-3pm. You can follow the former WVON The Talk of Chicago 1690 AM host on Twitter and Facebook.

PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Cook / Golden Sky Media