Warren Shadd, the nation’s first African-American piano manufacturer, recalls how he tagged along behind his father, James Shadd, a piano tuner at the historic Howard Theatre. by Barrington M. Salmon (TriceEdneyWire.com) Although many fathers grouse about the short shrift they get on Father’s Day, the power and importance of fathers in shaping the lives of their children and grandchildren cannot be understated or ignored. With Sunday, June 16, set aside to honor fathers, we asked some men to reflect on the most important lesson they learned from a father, father figure, mentor, teacher or other male with influence in their lives. The following are parts of their stories. “My father was absent and the most important thing I learned from that was to be present and be a father. I was raised with my grandparents. My grandfather was a model for me. The main lesson I learned was to be committed and handle it.” Dennard, who grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida during the Jim Crow era, said Papa Joe wasn’t his biological grandfather. “He married my grandmother and raised her seven children,” Dennard recalled. “He was the male figure in my life and continues to be the model. He was very soft-spoken and tinkered with things. He was a marksman in the military and took me out at age 8 to shoot a gun. He never laid a hand on any of us, but I never wanted to disappoint him.” Dennard, who’s been married for more than 30 years to Dr. Sharon Dennard and is the father of three grown children, said Sgt. Joe Johnson’s impact has lasted his whole life and he recently wrote a dedication to his grandfather in a book. “My mom had me in college and I didn’t move out of my grandparent’s house until I was eight,” he said. “The first Christmas without them tore me up. Sgt. Joe Johnson was the entire man. I never saw a flaw in my entire life – that’s who I came from.” “I would say that the lessons I learned didn’t happen at one time,” said Thompson, a noted cinematographer in demand around the world. “I had him for 10 short years. He was the calmest person I’ve ever met in my entire life. Mom would shout and carry on and he’d be perfectly calm. He was the one who got me into the arts when I was a child.” Thompson said his father, John Thompson, was a police officer and in his off time, he’d read poetry and was part of a theatre group. “He was grooming me for a life in the arts and he didn’t even know it,” he said. “He taught me patience and how to solve things. I am that way, particularly with work. The main question I have is ‘how can I fix it?” Thompson said his father’s death when he was 13, threw him into a tailspin but forced him to grow up quickly. “When he died, as often happens, you’re not sure what to do or what to think,” Thompson said softly. “For a year after he died, I was in a haze. Mother forced me into doing adult things like ironing my clothes to go to school and ironing my siblings’ clothes too. I was responsible for everything after that. I had to get up at three in the morning to arrange transportation to school and take care of my siblings. I didn’t think about how tough it was. I really didn’t realize it until I was in my 20s.” His father’s example of thinking through and solving problems had become a part of him. “I was thrown into the position of being responsible for everyone under me and to tell the truth, I handled it pretty well. I saw my mother get up and get things done and my father used to get up and get it done as well.” “The other day, I cried from Benning Road to Eastern Market thinking about my father,” said Hines, a resident of Prince George’s County, Md. “It’s because Father’s Day is coming.” Hines said he grew up in rural southern Louisiana in a town which had 8,000 people. He grew up in a shotgun house that had no running water or indoor plumbing. “We didn’t have running water until I was 10 years old. It was definitely a motivator for me.” Hines said. “The first important lesson happened when I was 8 years old. I went with my father to the store. My father was 37 but he addressed a 26-year-old White boy in the store as sir and the White boy called my father by his first name. That took me immediately to a dark place.” Hines said the young man tried to engage him in conversation and reached out to shake his hand, but he refused to respond or reciprocate. “When we left, my father was angry. When we pulled off, he said, ‘I say yes sir so that your ass can eat, so that your brothers and sisters can eat and so your mother can eat,” he said. “He was upset with me. But when we got home, he explained to me what it was like for him living in southern Louisiana, overcoming challenges, fighting with White boys, being let go from jobs. He told me he wasn’t less than a man. He said he hoped I would understand.