I've just come across an article on fatherly advice from celebrities dads (at the time I guess). This was published in the pre-web era of 1993 in Ebony. It doesn't appear in their online archives - so I thought let's re-blog it (recognizing the copyright of 1993 Johnson Publishing Co. and 2004 Gale Group) to see whether the fathers of 1993 had something valuable to say for dads in 2007.

Father to son: prominent fathers give fatherly advice on Father's Day - advice from fathers Bill Cosby, Roland W. Burris, W.W. Herenton, Jesse Jackson, Percy Sutton and L. Douglas Wilder

ACTING on the assumption that father knows best--at least when it comes to telling Junior how to straighten up and fly right--EBONY approached six highly distinguished fathers with the request to dispense some fatherly advice to young Black male Americans. The request for some heart-to-heart talk from "father to son" was prompted by EBONY's increasing awareness that if any group is in desperate need of sound advice and direction, it is young African-American men, many of whom live on the cutting edge of poverty and despair. There is hardly a single group in America that is more embattled and beset with problems, and thus more endangered, than young Black men. Their problems run the gamut from a hostile racist environment, unemployment, gang pressure, substandard housing and substandard schools to drug trafficking, substance abuse and incarceration, to name only a few.

Recognizing the seriousness of the situation and eager to do something about it, the fathers selected by EBONY took time out from their extremely busy schedules and obliged. They are Roland W. Burris, Illinois attorney general; Bill Cosby, entertainer, educator and philanthropist; Dr. W.W. Herenton, mayor of Memphis, Tenn.; Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow Coalition president and Washington, D.C., shadow senator; Percy E. Sutton, chairman emeritus of Inner City Broadcasting; and L. Douglas Wilder, governor of Virginia.

Featured here in alphabetical order are the fathers and the "father to son" advice they offer on Father's Day in the spirit of Langston Hughes' famous "Mother to Son" poem.

Roland W. Burris Attorney General State of Illinois Father of one son and one daughter

AS the father of a young African-American male, I have not always been able to give the quantity of time that I would like to have given, but the time we spent together was quality time that helped to steer his life across a successful path.

I often have the opportunity to speak to young men like you all across our state and nation, and my advice is the same I gave my own son: You must set goals; you must think about how the future will turn out for those who dare to dream. You must focus on those dreams and then be motivated to turn them into reality. The tools to use to accomplish those goals are the "Three Ps"--Preparation, Patience and Perseverance. You have to prepare, stay in school, get an education, learn all you can while you're sitting on your can.

As you are working toward your goals, be patient. Success does not happen overnight. It took me 25 years to reach my goal of becoming a statewide official. Things do not happen when you want them to. You must be patient.

Next you must persevere. There will be obstacles in your way, roadblocks, people trying to deny you, but you must not use that as an excuse to give up. Remember, a quitter never wins and a winner never quits.

Also remember that you need a clean mind if you want to succeed. Refrain from behavior that can hamper your success. Don't do drugs, don't get involved in criminal situations. If you take this advice and use it as a tool to reach your goals, you can look forward to raising your own son so he, too, can become an asset to our society.

Bill Cosby Entertainer, Educator, Philanthropist Father of one son and four daughters

GETTING an education is no longer an option, my son--it is a need! If we wait to keep hoping for money to suddenly appear and improve conditions at your school, you will die uneducated. I'll do what I can as your father to help you. This includes meeting with your teachers and protesting when there is injustice. However, you as the student must do your part and achieve education by any means necessary. When Malcolm used these words, he didn't mean just holding a gun by the window. Without education there will be no empowerment for our people.

When you watch your favorite TV commercials, you need to apply what you hear to your actions in school. They say on the sneaker commercial, "Just do it," which challenges you to perform to your physical peak. Well, I want you to apply that motto to your education. I realize certain subjects and extracurricular activities will not be offered at your school. You may not have medieval English literature because there are no books, but the responsibility rests on you to create a climate of learning. Just do a history course, the sciences, math and a second language. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed! If you are wise and strong enough to survive the threatening atmosphere of the streets, then channel that same energy into thriving in the same atmosphere at your school.

The enemy still has us and we're going along with the game. Part of the problem stems from self-inflicted exclusion. This includes using and selling drugs, and a need for the quick fix and instant gratification in a society where patience and hard work are a must for survival. You shouldn't speak of death for yourself at such an early age. Your strength and courage are proved by your willingness to learn and change the law. Breaking the law and chanting "kill me" defines a mental shortcoming and changes nothing.

I want you to remember that when you were born you were as intelligent and anxious to learn as anyone your age. However, as you got older, some of your peers enjoyed the benefits of technology. They were using typewriters and computers while you sat in a classroom with no lights or heat and an apathetic teacher. Eventually this gap in facilities shows up in competitive exam scores and those not granted a normal, healthy environment for learning are labeled as underachievers. We are known as the "poor," and we have no such thing as luxuries, which only strengthen the importance of education to us.

The older you get, the more you hear about the disillusionment and who's to blame for your school's situation. Soon your friends will begin to drop out. I can't send you to another school because they don't want you. They don't want to give you good books or clean up your classroom, and they certainly don't have time to send special teachers in to help you. So I'm saying to you, my son, empower by any means necessary with a book instead of a gun. If you say you want me to give you something, surely I can get a book for $12 much easier than a pair of $150 sneakers or a gold chain.

Dr. W.W. Herenton Mayor Memphis, Tenn. Father of two sons and one daughter

AS I reflect on the impact of this particular Father's Day and the last 53 years of my life, I am reminded of the many obstacles I have had to face during my struggles to succeed.

As the seed of a past and present generation, son, you will be faced with some of the same, if not more, obstacles. However, I hope that my words will help guide you in the challenges you face and the choices you will make in life.

I see in you a world of possibilities, limited only by your ambitions for opportunity. Don't allow anyone to place a ceiling on your dreams. This ceiling was lifted by those who preceded you. There are those pioneers who came before you to pave the way. Today, we see the results of their efforts and the culmination of years of unrelenting struggles. Son, you represent our future.

History has affected your past and present life. The choice as to whether you will add to the record of true greatness or of mere mediocrity is yours. You must not accept complacency. Always strive to be the best.

I pray that you will navigate masterfully through the challenges of life and find success and true happiness.

Son, the way for me has not been easy, but through perseverance, tenacity, integrity and faith, I was able to succeed. And so with hope, I say to you this Father's Day, the doors of opportunity are open for those who are prepared to enter; as I trust that you will have the strength of character to exemplify these values so that the sacrifices of all those pioneers will not have been in vain.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson President, Rainbow Coalition Shadow Senator, D.C. Father of three sons and two daughters

BECAUSE you are my beloved son in whose eyes I see so much of my past reflected and so much of your future and hope for the human race, I have sought to knock down walls and push back bushes and blaze trails by doing what the racist culture said could not be done. I refuse to accept the limitations they imposed upon me and the reduced options they have in mind for you.

Now that I have blazed some trails, you must take advantage of the new pathways that have been established. You don't face being forced to sit on the back of buses though you pay the same fare, or go to jail as did Rosa Parks. You don't face the humiliation of going through back doors of theaters, to side windows of restaurants, or the burden of paying taxes with no right to vote, or being a veteran of foreign wars with no right to vote.

My son, knocking down those walls were my burdens. Remember, my son, scaling those mountains were the burdens of my generation. Seizing the valleys beyond those mountains is your challenge and opportunity. Reflect on these things:

1. Don't take these opportunities for granted; they were not always there and are in constant jeopardy.

2. You still have big trees to cut down. I did not get them all. If you take advantage of your education options, you have a sharper ax to chop and cut with.

3. You must know that it rains sometimes. Eyes open--mouth shut--mind focused, the storm will pass over.

Always know there is unlimited power in a developed mind and a disciplined spirit. If your mind can conceive it and your heart can believe it, you can achieve it. Suffering breeds character; character breeds faith, and in the end, faith will prevail. Armed with this knowledge and a faith in God, you can turn minuses into pluses; you can turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones. It is tough, but your trials will serve to make you strong. Though your enemies will try to break your spirit, you are not the hole in a donut, my son; you are gold in the ghetto. Keep polishing, keep shining that gold and you will be light in darkness and heat in cold places. But what's more, you will be a man with integrity, my son.

Percy Sutton Chairman Emeritus Inner City Broadcasting Father of one son and one daughter

MY message to you, my son, is one of advice and hope for you, and through you, to future generations of young brothers, who will live in a world even more complex, challenging and difficult than that which surrounds us today.

This new world will be one of mind-boggling methodologies, technologies and tools of hope. It will be frightening to some; but technology will not care about the color of our skin, or the condition of our poverty. It will care only about our ability and the quality of our information and education. This new world facing new generations of young Blacks will require high intelligence just for survival. It will be a world without use for streetcorner hustling, vulgarity and violence.

As for me, I have told you often that in getting to this place in life--in the world of law, commerce, communication, entertainment and information from which I earn my living--I had to overcome many obstacles rooted in racism.

To get to this place in life, I educated my mind and disciplined my spirit. I worked 16 hours a day, six days a week and went to law school and graduate school full-time. I defined the odds and went places and did things not designed for me. I went there and prepared a place for you.

No matter your circumstances, you must live the consequences of your choices. Whether you step in front of a moving truck or choose to stand back on the sidewalk, there are choices and consequences to both decisions. If you jump from a 10-story building, you will not break the law of gravity; you will break your neck and prove the law of gravity. We can never escape the consequences of our choices.

Your choices will be tough. Remember, you should use what you've got; don't cry about what you don't have, and move on.

Ignore those who would tell you how to make the quick dollar or take the quick fix. They are hustlers in our midst. They are of us, but not with us. In this regard you must know that usually short-term pleasure leads to long-term pain, and that the laws of convenience lead to collapse. And that the laws of sacrifice lead to greatness.

L. Douglas Wilder Governor Commonwealth of Virginia Father of one son and two daughters

IF you some day have the good fortune to be blessed with a son, I hope you will instill in him these same values, and warn him that life demands tough choices. It is not easy to stay away from the lures of drugs and promiscuity, to commit yourself to education and to following your dreams, while at the same time understanding that personal desires cannot blind you to the need to do for others.

Most of all, I hope you would teach him to always remember from whence he came. These are difficult times to be a parent, but never have young people, especially young African-Americans, had more opportunities. These opportunities can lift all boats in our communities if we have the humility to give back to those who have helped us along the way.

As you grow older, I hope you will continue to abide your responsibilities and grab all opportunities, and ensure that your children will have the chance to soar even higher.

Taking a wife and beginning a family are the greatest responsibilities a man can accept. Making sure that you can provide for this family must be your highest priority. I firmly believe that other goals--even those as noble as serving the people--cannot measure up to the need to provide a stable home and guidance for your children.

Every generation has seen the need for change and continuity. You must change from the tired accepted new practice of seeking material gain at any costs. And though you will be surrounded by those who say that education doesn't count or excellence doesn't matter, believe me, they do.

You must continue what was handed to us by our parents and grandparents: that hard work produces good results, that dumb people run absolutely nothing, that poverty can be overcome and that one individual can make a difference.

Fatherhood has more responsibilities than just the physical act of insemination. It requires love, nurturing care and the development of the family team and partnership. You must master the mother tongue as a means of communicating your thoughts and ideas, either through the written or the spoken word.

The cleanliness of your mind and body is a prerequisite to your enjoyment of the bounties that life brings. Do not be tempted by taking shortcuts, for there aren't any.

Know who you are, for it is the greatest journey you will ever take. Don't be discouraged by failure or swayed by success. If you never succumb to flattery, you can't be crushed by disappointment.

And life is beautiful . . . live it . . . fully.

Ebony Magazine, June 1993

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