Words To Live By

Across the U.S., black fathers talk with their sons about the normal things: being kind, getting an education, finding a job. But they also must confront how they and their sons are seen as they go about their lives. To capture the wide range of experiences of black men and their sons, photographer RUDDY ROYE, a father of two boys, traveled the country to learn what these dads are teaching their children about race, success and survival

Dame Drummer, 40 Damon, 10

Oakland, Calif.

I know that I have a special boy. But my reality as a father is, one day, this 10-year-old could not come home—at the hands of foolishness or hatred or misunderstanding. And if I can give him anything, I would say, “Take your life one day at a time. Don’t let this world suck you into it with the illusions of happiness and the illusions of self-worth. Be your own man. Make your own mind. Have your own decisions. And above all, don’t be afraid of anything.”

BY EDDIE S. GLAUDE JR.

Fredrico Don Broom, 41; Vincent, 7, in lap; Diego, 12

Catonsville, Md.

My son Langston came into the house visibly angry. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were red and narrowed. “What’s wrong?” I quickly asked. “I was just trying to park and get to work,” he said.

Last summer, Langston was an intern for a progressive organization in New Jersey. They had been lobbying at the capitol in Trenton that day. He left home hoping they could make a difference. But as he attempted to park at the statehouse, a police officer stopped him and roughly told him to park elsewhere. As Langston searched for a different spot, another officer stopped him, drilled him with questions and told him to find somewhere else to park. He stood still in the kitchen, not really looking at me as he spoke. And then, “I got stopped again, Dad. Again! And the cop asked me, ‘Who is your P.O.?’ And I said, ‘What’s a P.O.?’ and the cop yelled, ‘Parole officer!’ I was in a suit, Dad! A suit!” A single tear fell down his face.