Five-year-old Tavon Richards spent Friday morning with his dad at Moravia Park Elementary School in East Baltimore, tossing a foam football back and forth outside.
The most important thing about being a father is “being a role model, teaching him to be on the right path,” said his dad, who is also named Tavon.
The two attended a Million Fathers March event, which the school has hosted for three years in a row to engage fathers in their children’s education and foster a sense of community and shared commitment to academic success. About 200 family members attended, with double the number of fathers and male role models showing up compared with last year, according to a school spokesperson.
Dads and their kids gathered at the school playground, playing cornhole and soccer, eating cupcakes and winning prizes, before lining up and walking toward the school building, cheered along with pom-poms, high-fives and applause.
“We have a huge presence at Moravia Park of dads showing up for their kids,” said school principal Caitlyn Brooks. “I think it’s great to have dads and role models be part of the community. It’s a partnership.”
Some children don’t have a father figure at home, said Jamal Turner, president of the Frankford Improvement Association, who mentors youth through the Nolita Project.
“It’s not often you see large groups of fathers coming together like this,” Turner said.
Turner has two of his own kids who attend other schools. One of the most important things about being a dad, he said, is helping his kids discover their passions and supporting them in the things they care about.
For Michael Conner, Friday was the three-year anniversary of his wife’s death from breast cancer. Conner said he is even more dedicated now to being present for his nine kids, including 8-year-old Mackenzie, a Moravia Park student.
“Those kids will always remember the seeds you planted,” Conner said. “At some point, they will go out into the world and make their own decisions, but they will always have a reference point of, ‘My dad told me this. This is what he did.’ ”
This year’s Million Fathers March at Moravia Park Elementary was a partnership between the school, the school’s Judy Center Early Learning Hub and the Y of Central Maryland.
The Million Fathers March was founded 20 years ago in Chicago by the Black Star Project and has since spread to 140 schools in 111 cities, according to Fathers Incorporated, a nonprofit organization that is partnering on the nationwide event. A school spokesperson said the school is not affiliated with either organization but was inspired by them to host its event.
“Children with actively engaged fathers are more likely to excel academically, have stronger self-esteem, and exhibit healthier behaviors,” wrote Kenneth Braswell, the CEO of Fathers Incorporated, in a recent post on the Atlanta-based organization’s website. “In addition to the data, there’s the undeniable power of presence, of being there — not just at graduations and game days, but in the everyday moments that make up a child’s life.”
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