Filmmaker premieres work about violence of fatherless sons

His father died in 1995, still estranged. He attended the funeral of the man who was a virtual stranger to him and felt emotionally detached. That experience spawned Braswell’s memoir, “When A Tear Won’t Fall.”

Braswell moved to Albany in 1989. He had dropped out of high school and later earned his GED, worked for Albany Savings Bank, took night classes at Albany Business College, passed a state civil service exam and was hired as a computer analyst for a statewide housing database. He worked with the Urban League and NAACP in Albany, published inner-city newspapers, and later left state service to start Fathers Incorporated. He has a federal government contract through the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse. He works out of his home office in Colonie, overseeing seven employees who live in Delaware and Washington, D.C.

His wife, Tracy Braswell, is a board member of his organization and a stay-at-home mother. They have a son, Kenneth Jr., 5, and a daughter, Nzinga, 14. He has two grown daughters, Amber, 22, and Tiarrah, 33.

“I was young and selfish and estranged from Tiarrah when she was young because I couldn’t navigate the relationship with her mother,” Braswell said. “I finally grew up, had an awakening and vowed to be a better father.”

Article Appeared @http://blackstarjournal.org/?p=3892

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