This Father’s Day, we should do more than hand out neckties and grill steaks. We should confront the truth: America leads the developed world in a heartbreaking and preventable trend — the collapse of fatherhood in the home.

According to a Pew Research Center study of 130 countries, nearly one in four children in the United States grows up in homes without a father or any other adult present. That is more than three times the global average. And the cost to our society is staggering.

America is the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, but when it comes to our children, we are falling short in the most fundamental way. 

Children who grow up without a father are more likely to live in poverty, drop out of school, engage in crime, and struggle with emotional and behavioral issues. This is not a theory. These outcomes are well-documented across decades of research.

The cancer that is this crisis has been fostered for years as society has normalized the lack of a father’s involvement, especially in the black community. It is about a breakdown in our culture, a turning away from the values that once anchored families. We have abandoned the idea that fathers matter.

Government policies in the 1960s, while intended to provide support, ended up disincentivizing marriage and promoting dependence on the state. Nowhere has this been more destructive than in minority communities. In 1965, nearly 80% of Black children were raised in two-parent homes. Today, more than 70% grow up without their fathers.

At TakeCharge, we reject the idea that these outcomes are the inevitable result of systemic racism. Often, they are the result of choices — choices made by all levels of our American society that have chipped away at the foundational role of fathers.

Single mothers are not to blame. Many are doing incredible work under difficult circumstances. But a child should not have to rely on one parent when two are meant to be present. Fathers are not optional. They are essential.

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The path forward begins with rebuilding what we have lost. We need to revive a culture that respects marriage, celebrates fatherhood, and teaches boys to become responsible men. The foundation of any strong society is strong families.

We must also return to the values that once made our communities thrive: faith, family, education, and personal responsibility. TakeCharge is committed to restoring these values. Through advocacy, education, and direct community engagement, we help families reclaim their identity and purpose.

This issue is not limited to any one group. Fatherlessness affects all races and income levels. But the consequences are particularly severe in low-income and minority communities, where the absence of fathers contributes to cycles of poverty and dysfunction.

That is why we support solutions rooted in personal responsibility, not dependency. We promote school choice, academic excellence, and the power of free enterprise. We believe the promise of America still works — but only when the family is restored.

This Father’s Day, we ask you to do more than say “thank you” to the fathers in your life. We ask you to join a movement to rebuild fatherhood in America. Encourage young men to see fatherhood as a gift and a calling. Support policies that promote marriage and family stability. Mentor a boy who needs a man to look up to. Advocate for cultural change that uplifts the role of dads.

Until we address the fatherhood crisis in America, no program or policy will be enough to fix what is broken.

Our families depend on fathers who show up, stand firm, and lead with love and responsibility. Let’s make this Father’s Day a turning point.

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Kendall Qualls is the founder and President of TakeCharge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring Black Americans to take charge of their lives by embracing the core principles of faith, family, education, and free enterprise.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

This Sunday marks my second Father’s Day without my son, Bar. It feels unthinkable to even write that sentence. And yet, it is true.

Over 617 agonizing days and sleepless nights have passed since I last held my son, heard his voice, or felt the warmth of his presence. Bar Kuperstein was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, at the Nova Music Festival, and has been held captive in Gaza ever since, under brutal, inhumane conditions. He is one of 55 hostages still held by Hamas.

This Father’s Day, like the last, arrives with a crushing weight. There is no hug. No smile. No message, no call, no card. Only aching emptiness and the harrowing silence of uncertainty, absence, and despair.

Bar is 23 years old. He is my firstborn, the eldest of five siblings. He is not just my son, he is my heart, my compass, my light. A gentle giant with a kind soul. On that horrific morning of October 7, while rockets flew and bullets tore through the sky at the Nova Music Festival, Bar did not flee. He stayed behind to help. He tended the wounded, calmed the frightened, and helped others escape. He insisted on staying with the injured, even as the gunfire drew closer.

He had a chance to run, but he didn’t take it. That’s who Bar is — brave, selfless, and good to his core.

Credit: Kupershtein family.

Bar has always been strong. In 2019, I was severely injured in a car accident while rushing to resuscitate a four-year-old girl as a volunteer medic. I lost my ability to walk and speak. Bar immediately stepped into the space where I could no longer stand and became our family’s rock. At just 18, he helped raise his siblings, supported our home, and brought light into our lives despite the darkness.

But even a young man like Bar cannot survive forever in the darkness of underground tunnels, without food, water, or minimal humanitarian conditions.

Several months ago, we saw a Hamas propaganda video in which Bar appeared silent, frightened, thin and hollow-eyed. My son, the love of my life, buried alive. A survivor who continues to suffer.

Since Bar’s abduction, I’ve made it my mission to be his voice. I’ve spent the past year relearning how to speak — not for myself, but for Bar. Last month, I sat in my wheelchair at the Gaza border, near Kibbutz Nir Oz, and shouted through tears: “Bar! I am speaking again! You can come back!”

To all the fathers celebrating this weekend: I hope you hold your children tight. I hope you tell them how much they mean to you. Because there are fathers like me who can only dream of that embrace.

To the international community, I say this: The lives of our children cannot be negotiable. Their freedom cannot be delayed. We need the world’s moral courage now — to stand with the families of hostages and demand their safe return. Indifference is a form of complicity.

And especially to you, President Trump: you too are a father. You know what it means to protect your children, to love them beyond words. I plead with your heart: Please, help us end this nightmare. We believe you have the power. Help put an end to this war and the suffering on both sides. Use your influence, your strength, your voice — to bring back my son Bar, and the 54 other hostages still held in Gaza.

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No family should endure this. No child should be left to languish in darkness while the world moves on.

If Bar is freed, I will rise from this wheelchair. I will stand with every ounce of strength left in me and walk to him. I will wrap my arms around him and say, “Welcome home, son. You were never forgotten.”

Please bring back the happy in my Father’s Day. Bring back the sunshine of my life.

Bring Bar home. BRING HIM HOME NOW.

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Tal Kupershtein is the father of Bar Kuperstein, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.