Breathing Between Burdens: Fatherhood and Black Grief

Father’s Day can be an especially difficult time for those of us mourning fathers, father figures and ancestors. Our society struggles with grief literacy. Often language eludes us when we talk about our pain and loss. And it’s especially difficult to find brave and safe spaces for Black folks to grieve. While society tends to disregard our grief, for Black youth and others with marginalized identities grief not only goes unacknowledged, but is often penalized. At this gathering we are centering the Black experience of grief and fatherhood, we invite people of all backgrounds who want to listen, learn, and witness, and to expand their knowledge.

This is an opportunity to prepare for Father’s Day with grief experts and with each other. The discussion includes both personal storytelling and testimony and practical tools to manage anxiety and sorrow, while also ensuring a space for joy and purpose.

What acts of service, mindful activities, and forms of spiritual and creative expression might aid us as we approach Father’s Day?

How do we show up not only for bereaved adult children, but also parents who have experienced child loss?

How can we support people with complicated relationships with their fathers and father figures? And people who are grieving non-death losses such as parents living with dementia or mental illness?