The Love Languages of Black Fatherhood

Thirty years ago, Gary Chapman posited the idea of the “Five Love Languages” – “Words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch.” When we think of Black men—Black fathers—we rarely think in terms of “love languages,” but rather that of established stereotypes, absence, and shame. In this talk Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal documents how the shifting presentation of men in a patriarchal society has forced Black men to play catch-up each time the goal post of cultural expectations moves. Using historical context, personal reflection and data, Neal argues that American culture does not have enough language to adequately understand or describe Black fatherhood.

Mark Anthony Neal is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University. He is the author of several books including the recent Black Ephemera: The Crisis and Challenge of the Music Archive (NYU) as well co-editor of That’s the Joint: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader, now in its third edition. For the past 13 years, Neal has hosted the Webby-nominated video-podcast Left of Black.