From the President's Desk

Reflections about fatherhood and the impact of father absence by NFI President, Roland C. Warren.

Highlights: Warren on Fatherhood

View a highlight reel, below, of Roland Warren in the media. 

A Message from the President

The most disturbing social trend of our times is the dramatic increase in fatherlessness in the United States.

In 1960, less than 8 million children were living in families where the father was absent. Today the number of children living in father-absent homes stands at 24 million. That means that tonight one out of every three children in America will go to sleep in a home in which their father does not live. Read more

Media Appearances

 Roland on CNN on Father's Day morning.

Click on the links below to view additional media appearances/publications by NFI President, Roland Warren.

• CNN.com op-ed
  An op-ed on the best way to help students do better today. (10/06/10)
  
  
• TheRoot.com op-ed
  Roland responds to a provocative article about the notion of "financial abortions" for fathers. (7/12/10)
  
  
• CNN.com op-ed
  A Father's Day op-ed on CNN.com questioning an article that claims that fathers are unnecessary. (6/20/10)
  
  
• BET News video
  Roland talks to BET about the importance of father involvement in the African American community.
  
  
• NBC's Today Show
  A discussion about dads and fathering (7/11/08)
  
  
• C-SPAN's Washington Journal
  A discussion about "The One Hundred Billion Dollar Man" study (6/18/08)

The Father Factor Blog

Click on the links below to read the full posts from NFI President, Roland Warren, as featured on The Father Factor Blog:

• The Toy Story Dad...What's His Story?
  With 24 million kids living in father-absent homes, Andy's family situation is too real and too common for too many children. Nonetheless, this was not an accident or an oversight. Somewhere during the creative process someone made the call to erase dad.
  
  
• 12,000 Quotes, Yet One Too Few...
  "Now, I love mothers. I have one. I am married to one. And, some of my best friends are mothers. But, it seems that this author has forgotten biology 101. Without fathers, there are no mothers."
  
  
• Happy "Farter's" Day
  "Today, I was looking for Father’s Day cards for a couple of friends who are new dads and I was just amazed at how many of them were focused on drinking, grilling and farting."
  
  
• Can you hear his soul?
  "...I am fond of saying that kids have a 'hole in their soul' in the shape of their dad and when a father is unwilling or unable to fill that hole, it can leave a wound that is not easily healed." Two stories about fatherless boys and hearing their souls.
  
  
• Life's "Little" Interruptions
  "...It’s been a long time since I have been this close to someone who was dead. And, I have never been this close to a death so quick and so young. It was really difficult to take it all in and I could not help but to think back to how my day started and the 'interrupting' call that I received…and the one that the father of this little boy received. Like me, I am sure that he had a day planned with lots of 'important' stuff too. Now, he had to come to terms with a painful loss, an interruption of life-changing proportion... I know that this father, as he cradles his little guy in his arms for the very last time, will look into his son’s face and think…I would give just about anything for another chance to pardon his interruptions"

Pop's Culture Column

NFI President Roland C. Warren's Washington Times Column

Click on the links below to read articles about fatherhood from NFI President, Roland Warren.

• WARREN: Of princesses and first ladies (12/06/09)
  "After screening 'The Princess and the Frog' and reflecting on its significance, I was reminded of something I am fond of saying and truly believe: 'A good father helps his daughter find her prince without kissing all the frogs.' Good fathers... are the first men to pursue their daughters' hearts. When they do it right — by pursuing their hearts in their daughters' best interests, not their own — it shows their daughters they are worthy of receiving love. Without this modeling, too many girls spend their lives kissing a whole lot of frogs and never find their prince. And that's no fairy tale." Read more
  
  
• WARREN: Movie examines need for a father (11/01/09)
  "I recently had an opportunity to screen the new Miramax movie, 'The Boys Are Back,' which takes an honest look at the impact a father's presence and absence has on his children... The broader reality is the film does not only speak to people like me, it also speaks for millions. There are 24 million American children — one in three overall and two of three in the black community — living in father-absent homes. Social scientists have produced a body of research conclusively showing that when children lack a good father, they are at a higher risk for a host of negative economic, health, emotional, educational and psychological outcomes." Read more