Barack Obama's Kids, Father's Day and Black Economics

The country is well aware that the Obama family is full of basketball fans. President Barack Obama has been seen throwing up a rusty jump shot against members of his cabinet, and Michelle is reportedly slated to attend game seven of the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics. Well, the love of basketball apparently passed down to the Obama children, Sasha and Malia, who gave their dad a gift of the ages.

This week, it was reported that the two girls decided they wanted their father to have a custom-made Lakers jersey. When they told AEG President Tim Leiweke what they wanted to get their father, he went down to the Lakers store and had a jersey made for President Obama right on the spot. After the game, the jersey was signed by Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Not a bad gift -- I can't get one of those for my dad.

With Father's Day approaching, I can say that I am relieved that President Obama is not on the campaign trail again. I say this because it was two years ago this week that the president gave the Father's Day speech of a lifetime, in which he spent the entire speech describing how black males are refusing to be good dads. I found this speech to be appalling, not because there aren't significant fatherhood problems in our community, but because he was painting black men with a broad brush by presuming that we are the ones who are solely responsible for the breakdown of black families. The president even engaged in the disingenuous task of relating black male American parental abandonment to that by his own father, who is not actually an African American. So, not only are African American men being blamed for what we do, we are being blamed for what black men around the world are doing, too.

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Pampered Princesses

Malia and Sasha Obama: The unexpected stars of their dad's presidential campaign, Malia and Sasha Obama dazzled with their beauty, fun personalities and seemingly down-to-earth natures. Since their worldwide introduction nearly two years ago, everything about the first daughters, from their clothes to their hair to their school, has been incessantly documented and admired. But through it all they've seemed to handle the pressures of life in the spotlight with good nature and grace.

Pete Souza, Official White House Photo

AFP

BlackVoices.com

Pampered Princesses

Jessie James and D'Lila Star Combs: The two littlest Combs' are spared no expense in their Los Angeles upbringing: shopping sprees at hip boutique Kitson, gold nameplate necklaces before they were even able to read their names, plus all the love and attention from their former model mommy Kim Porter and all-around-fly-guy dad Sean "Diddy" Combs, not to mention a host of older siblings (between mom and dad they've got four). And just because they're the youngest of the clan, doesn't mean they come last, especially since they're always dad's guest stars of choice for Diddy TV.

Pampered Princesses

Ming Lee and Aoki Lee Simmons: Born to fashion and hip-hop royalty Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons, these little stars aren't just princesses; they're moguls-in-training. And since the girls have been in the Phat Farm-Baby Phat spotlight practically since birth (their mom ends all of her runway shows with the girls in tow), it's no wonder that they now star in Baby Phat Girlz campaigns and host their own fashion shows.

Pampered Princesses

Ava Dash She was born into a pedigree fit for a princess, what with fashion designer mom Rachel Roy and music and fashion exec dad Damon Dash, not to mention "Uncle Jay-Z," who's godfather to her older brother, Damon Dash Jr. And Ava seems to enjoy living the good life in Manhattan with her mother and younger sister, Talullah, attending movie premieres, fashion shows, posing for magazines and traveling the world.

Pampered Princesses

Keke Palmer: Laying claim to the black Disney princess throne handed down by Raven-Symone, Keke stars in the hit show 'True Jackson, VP' while still making time for a film career ('Akeelah and the Bee') and a budding singing career (she sings the theme song for 'True' and her work has also appeared on the soundtrack to 'Night at the Museum'). Beyond her talent, she's growing into a media favorite as well, with images from her life out-and-about in L.A. constantly popping up in blogs and magazines.

Pampered Princesses

Willow Smith: Blessed with her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith's beauty and dad Will Smith's personality, Willow is a princess to watch. She grabbed media attention in 2009 when she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert with only half of a head of hair, a la older stars like Cassie and Rihanna. Along with brother Jaden, she's also a mini-philanthropist, serving as a Hasbro youth ambassador to project Zambia, which helps African kids orphaned by AIDS.

Pampered Princesses

Reginae Carter: Rapper Li'l Wayne's oldest child spent the first decade or so of her life in the background, but in the past couple of years she's stepped into the spotlight with appearances on her mom's reality show, 'Tiny and Toya,' performing in the hip-hop group OMG Girlz (which also features Tameka "Tiny" Cottle's daughter Zonnique) and even appearing onstage with her dad and rapper Drake during 2009's BET Awards.

Pampered Princesses

Vanessa and Angela Simmons: Like their younger cousins Ming and Aoki, Rev. Run of Run DMC's daughters were raised in hip-hop's royal family. And as the eldest heirs to the family fortune, the sisters have already hit the ground running to make the family proud. In the past few years they've starred in two reality shows ('Run's House' and spin-off 'Daddy's Girls'), launched a successful accessories line, Pastry, and grown into bonafide socialites, hitting shows during New York Fashion Week and attending events in Los Angeles.

Pampered Princesses

Yara Shahidi: With her starring role in 'Imagine That' alongside Eddie Murphy and Nicole Ari Parker and last year's Gap Kids campaign, Yara's well on her way to mainstream stardom. Born to model Keri Salter-Shahidi, she started modeling when she was just a baby with her mom (the two even appeared in a McDonald's commercial together) before venturing into acting. She's starring in another film this year, 'Unthinkable' with Sam Jackson, so we're betting this little princess is here to stay.

Pampered Princesses

Chudney Ross: The daughter of Diana Ross and music exec Robert Silberstein, Chudney makes no apologies for her privileged background or the instant fame it's brought her. Like older sis Tracee Ellis Ross, she doesn't let her superstar mother do all the work though. After graduating from Georgetown University she taught for years in public schools before moving to Los Angeles to take up her post in the city's famous daughter club.

Pampered Princesses

In very few situations is there an acknowledgment that it takes both a man and a woman to have a child, and it also takes both parents to ruin a relationship. Additionally, there are many fathers who are crushed by the economic pressures of a child support system that cares more about collecting and controlling our money than it cares about keeping families together. Given that black men are the most likely to be unemployed and the most likely to be incarcerated, these challenges continue to make it difficult to keep families together.

On the flip side, there are some fathers out there who are not doing their jobs, and some mothers who are alienating their children from their dads. While each situation is different, I encourage those of us who care about kids to realize that you don't have to have a child in order to be a parent. If there is a child who needs guidance, love or support, make yourself available to them as if they were your own. They say that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it also takes a village to overcome the curse of the single-parent household. Focusing on these issues diligently will be vital to the economic and sociopolitical stability of the African American community.

Finally, I am hopeful that on this Father's Day, we can focus on the good dads and use them as models for the bad ones. You don't say terrible things about someone on their birthday, so I don't want to hear anyone waste my Father's Day by telling me what a terrible person I am. Black fathers come in all shapes and sizes, and the idea that women are doing their jobs perfectly while every single dad is falling asleep at the wheel is both uninformed and counterproductive. We've all got to make adjustments to save our children.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.