It was a day early, but an estimated 135 people joined Appleton-based African Heritage, Incorporated (AHI) to celebrate fathers at the group’s first Soulful Father’s Day Brunch.
“I think it’s very important for us to come together to support, to walk alongside men, to uplift them, to help them rise above the mindset that this culture is not to be there for their families or to not work hard,” said Pastor G.A. Mann, senior pastor at Appleton Sanctuary Outreach Ministries, who delivered the invocation to open the event. “We want to change that mindset, to raise that bar.”
Keynote speaker Keith Brown, known nationwide as “Mr. I’m Possible,” delivered a message of leadership and empowerment.
“I’m here in the Appleton area to empower and inspire fathers to be fathers, and not farther,” Brown said in an interview. “I am here for a clarion call to action. That’s going to be for fathers in particular, but men in general, to step up in the community and now father the entire community. In essence i want men to rise to the challenge to eradicating a lot of the negative in the community. So often we see women rise to the challenge. We see women who are active in the school, in the community. Now I’m calling on these fathers to step up and be the burden bearers for the community, not only for our children but for young men, primarily young men of color, so they can be prospects, not suspects.”
Brown said it’s an incorrect stereotype that African American men are absent as fathers.
“Quite often men of color are ostracized systematically in the media,” he said. “There’s just been a historical perception of men of color, but I also want to celebrate these fathers. Even the research shows that African American men are some of the most involved men. I’m talking about the day to day involvement. Helping with homework, things of that nature.”
A 2014 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that African American men are more likely to be involved in the daily tasks of childrearing than white and Latino men.
Dr. Philips Oriaran, a cofounder of AHI, said the event is an important place to share wisdom.
“It’s important for fathers to get together to share knowledge, to support each other, to build each other up,” he said. “In our community we need to build each other up so no one can conquer or divide us. We need to be in the forefront of change in all our communities for the sake of our children.”
AHI provided shuttle service from several communities outside Appleton, including Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.
“I think it’s important to come together, anyone who has this positive mindset of supporting other fathers, letting men know that they don’t have to walk this walk alone,” said Mann. “Even if you’re in Milwaukee or Fond du Lac, we want people to know we’re only a phone call away. I hope that they’ll be inspired to take what they learned back to their communities. If they get a spark of something they can do better, I hope this will inspire them to step up to that new challenge.”
“That father’s role is to be the leader in his family,” said Brown. “Not to be domineering or dominant, but to be that inspirational leader that his family to turn to. They are the keepers of legacy.”
