Author:
Leap, Jorja, 1955- author.
Note:"A group of former gang members come together to help one another answer the question "How can I be a good father when I've never had one?" In 2010, former gang leader turned community activist Big Mike Cummings asked UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap to co-lead a group of men struggling to be better fathers in Watts, South Los Angeles. These men, black and brown, from late adolescence to middle-age, most formerly incarcerated, work to build their identities as fathers, connect with their children, and heal their community. Project Fatherhood follows the lives of the men, who meet each week as they struggle with the pain of their own losses, the chronic pressures of poverty and unemployment, and the unquenchable desire to do better and provide more for the next generation. Through immersion into the lived experiences of those working to overcome their circumstances, Leap provides not only dramatic stories of fathers trying to do the right thing but a larger sociological portrait of how institutional injustices become manifest in the lives of ordinary people. The group's development over time demonstrates real-life movement toward solutions as the men find support in each other and in their shared goal of healing their families and keeping their children out of the "cradle-to-prison pipeline.""-- Provided by publisher.
Note:"When "Big Mike" Cummings asked Jorja Leap to co-lead a group for men learning how to father their children, she had no idea what to expect. What unfolds in these pages is the story of Project Fatherhood and its members as they meet every Wednesday night in Watts - the epicenter of violence in Los Angeles. The struggles the book illuminates are heartbreaking, infuriating and hilarious. Over time, the fathers both support and argue with one another about the best strategies for raising children and dealing with "significant others." Their family relationships are freighted with joy and uncertainty. But the story moves into deeper territory as the men confront long-term loss and trauma, the chronic pressure of poverty and the unquenchable desire to somehow do better and provide more for the next generation. Many fathers, newly released from incarceration, struggle to follow the road back from prison, which they navigate with equal parts skill and ineptitude. Others struggle to find jobs, observing, "A good father provides for his children." As the author spends time with these men outside of the group - they share secrets that shed greater light on their efforts to build a life on the ruins of the past. In the end, these fathers reveal a purpose beyond themselves: they want to heal the community they once sought to destroy. This is an intimate book about fatherhood written from the standpoint of someone who initially appears to have nothing in common with these men. Leap is told repeatedly, "You don't know what it's like to be us." Yet, over time, they all discover they share more than they ever imagined. Project Fatherhood offers a portrait of loss, deprivation and pain. But more than that, it offers a view of the human spirit and its unrelenting search for redemption"-- Provided by publisher.
