The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Strong fathers might fix senseless chaos
A few days ago marked my first Father’s Day in 44 years without my father, longtime AJC sportswriter Earnest Reese.
As I reflected on Father’s Day, I thought about the consequences of not having him in my life.
I thought about whether having someone like Earnest Reese as a father or mentor could have mitigated the recent violence at Auburn University or the double fatal shooting after a funeral at Victory for the World Church in Stone Mountain.
These reflections compelled me to examine the role of having a strong father in my life.
Perhaps stronger fatherhood is the element that would help resolve the senseless chaos among young black men.
My father led by example. He was the loving husband to my mother for 47 years. I learned invaluable lessons from this commitment. I saw him go to work every day and simply do his job. He was a professional who excelled at his job.
I emulated him and never missed a day of high school in my four years, while lettering in four sports and maintaining
My father taught me that there were other options in life besides professional sports, entertainment or the streets.
By the end of my senior season on the Vanderbilt University football team, I was ranked among the top 10 NFL safety prospects in the country.
I played in the prestigious Blue-Gray All Star game and attended the NFL Combine Camp. Nevertheless, I went undrafted in the 1990 NFL Draft.
If Earnest Reese had not been my father, this experience would have been traumatic. He told me to savor my memories and to transfer the intensity of the football field into a new endeavor.
Six years after the 1990 NFL Draft, I received my Ph.D. from USC (Los Angeles) after completing my dissertation research on ethnic conflict and intergroup relations at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva, Switzerland.
I have been a political science professor at Cal Poly Pomona for 16 years.
I am the founder/director of the Prison Education Project and the Reintegration Academy for Parolees.
With my father’s inspiration and guidance, I have authored five books.
Beyond these accomplishments, I am at ease with giving. I am comfortable with being a role model.
I take pride in embracing the spirit and legacy of my father.
The most poignant lesson that he taught me was that you get what you give in life.
If you give love, you get love.
If you give respect, you get respect.
He taught me that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.
If somehow, each father could in his own way embrace the discipline, love, warmth, empathy, inspiration and compassion of Earnest Reese, imagine the impact it could have in our collective communities.