A Letter From The Editor

Dear Real Dad Member,

You are probably wondering what happened to our informative monthly newsletter, and we in turn have regretted not being able to deliver it to you each month.  As you may recall, in April we announced that the Real Dads Network would be introducing a new website in May with a multitude of new features.  Unfortunately, the best laid plans were not able to be delivered by the date expected.

Our new web developer ran into personnel issues and assembly line delays in delivering all of the new functions that we commissioned.  The process of fine-tuning the work that has been done so far has taken much longer than anticipated.  But we at the Real Dads Network are determined to create a website that will serve the needs of our members, as well as facilitate the growth of our organization.  So we have been reluctantly patient so that we can get a final product that we all can be proud of.  We have even contracted a second web developer to assist in the process of meeting our goal.  At this point in time we feel that Real Dads is less than a month away from launching our new website. 

Please stay tuned for the announcement of the start date.  You patience will be rewarded with a state of the art website that will allow us to communicate with you through a variety of formats.

While we have not published a newsletter for a few months, the Real Dads Network has continued to work very hard to support fathers’ efforts to stay connected to their children, improve the image of black men and fathers, and to advocate for legal and organizational procedures to strengthen fatherhood and families.  Some of our recent activities have been: 

• In June, the Real Dads Network presented its annual “In Celebration of Black Fathers Week”.  Activities held during that week included a kickoff event hosted by the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a screening and discussion of the new documentary by Eric McKay, “For Our Sons”, a town hall meeting around the topic of “Black Fathers, Black Men and the Media” held in a barbershop, and a father son/daughter breakfast and basketball clinic.  
• The week-long celebration concluded with the Real Dads Scholarship and Awards Banquet at which awards were given to Bill Stephney (Activist Award), John Amos (Lifetime Image Award), Maurice Carver (Media Award), Batin Ashante (Real Dads Award), Scott Leach (Organization Award), and Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts (Community Father Award). 
• For Fathers’ Day, the Real Dads Network was a keynote speaker at the special Fathers’ Day NY Liberty (WNBA) game and fatherhood forum at Madison Square Garden.
• In September, the Real Dads Network was invited to sit on a panel discussion at a symposium hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington D.C. to make recommendations on the topic of “Reclaiming Our Families – Fatherhood in the African American Family”.

So the Real Dads Network is still working at leading the fatherhood movement and expanding our network of allies.  We expect that this issue of the newsletter will be the last on our old website.

Please watch for our announcement very soon about the launch of the new Real Dads website and the many new features that will be available to members of the Real Dads Network.  We look forward to working with you to strengthen and expand our efforts to bring fathers back into the family, celebrate those who are doing their jobs, and advocating for legislation and social service systems that support families staying connected. 

The Real Dads Network will be bigger, stronger and more versatile in the services we will be able to offer to our members.

See you in a few weeks!

Keith L. Honeywell

RDN Website Editor