At Jim’s Homestyle Diner, Alameda, CA.
Ajuan Mance
Category Archives: Alameda
1001 Black Men #729
At the Blue Danube Cafe, Park St. Alameda, CA.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #710
Panera Bread, Alameda Town Center, Alameda, CA.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #705
If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, then you know I have much love for my nerdy brothas. You probably also know that every hundred drawings, I take stock of where I have gone with this series, and I set some goals for where I would like to end up. One thing that I have consistently identified as a goal is to broaden the range of Black men who appear in this series. The flipside of that goal is that I also need to avoid over representing those figures who fall into those categories that, for me, are easy and familiar (like nerds, academics, and men in suits).
As you can see from this drawing, though, I can never completely turn my back on the Black geeks and nerds of the world. They are my people. So, for your viewing enjoyment (and my own artistic satisfaction), I offer this drawing of the sweater guy from Starbucks in the cool reading glasses that he was wearing as regular glasses.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #703
Starbucks, Webster St., Alameda, CA.
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This guy was sitting at his open laptop, staring off into the distance. His large and expressive eyes, his bushy hair and beard, his wide tie, and his club collar shirt made him one of the most memorable people in the establishment.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #699
Here’s another of the gymnastics dads from my niece’s school. This guy is faithfully there every week, with his daughter and son in tow. The daughter goes off to her class, and the dad and his son go up to the waiting room to hang out, read books, and do puzzles. It’s great daddy/daughter/son time, and it probably gives mom a bit of a break. I haven’t talked to the daughter, but the son is a really sweet kid. He’s ten years old and he still believes in Santa Claus. I love that he’s been able to hold on to that level of childhood innocence. It’s the mark of great parenting that they’ve created a space in which their kids don’t have to rush to grow up.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #696
Nob Hill Foods, Alameda, CA.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #689
24 Hour Fitness, Alameda Ave. Oakland, CA.
Ajuan Mance
1001 Black Men #687
NEA Learning Center, Alameda, CA.
For the last several days I’ve pretty much gone from my house to my office to my classes and meetings, and back to my house. So when I finally stole a moment to go somewhere that wasn’t home or work, I couldn’t help but take notice of the people around me.
A
1001 Black Men #683
Why are all the performance parent types on television always depicted as women? There are the stage mothers, the soccer moms, and the dance moms. And, whether they’re portrayed as doting or obsessive, these moms are almost always portrayed as white…which brings me to the subject of today’s drawing, the Black gymnastics dads. Yes, they do exist. I cannot say they are legion, but I see them every week, when I accompany my niece to her gymnastics school. Last week, while I was sitting in one of the waiting areas, I happened to notice that there were 5 dads standing in the lobby, and four of those dads were Black men. One was standing and watching his daughter’s class, and three were helping their daughters into or out of jacket, shoes, and socks.
I don’t need to recount all of the media coverage that addresses how or why Black fathers are absent. And I am not suggesting that absentee fathers are not a problem. But it is also a problem when the national rhetoric around Black men and parenting completely overlooks the very real presence and contributions of the men I see at my niece’s weekly class, the fathers who are loving and present caregivers–the fathers who are there.
Ajuan Mance