I hope this letter finds you well rested as you celebrate another well-deserved Father’s Day.
I’ve been meaning to write this letter to you for a few years now, but for some reason or another always end up failing to put pen to paper. Year after year, I inevitably pick up the Point of View Newspaper in June and kick myself after reading the stories of other writers showering their fathers with praises and accolades knowing that I missed yet another opportunity to do the same for you. After all, but for your foresight and commitment to giving our community a voice through your newspaper, those same stories that speak to the importance of fatherhood would never be told.
I vowed that this year would be different and if you’re reading this, it means that I succeeded. Of course, not without the help of the editor (my mother) who extended the deadline for me to submit my article until the very last minute, looked past the fact that I far exceeded the word count for a typical article, and if all goes well, after some minor edits, will send it to you for final approval since I know that nothing goes in without your review. And, I’m hopeful that after you read it, you will see fit to print it so that all of your readers will know just how much you mean to me.
Let me start by telling you that I LOVE YOU. I know you don’t hear it often, but at least now you will have it in writing and you can always refer back to this letter anytime we have gone too long without saying it to one another.
I also want you to know that you are my hero. Your courage, commitment to family, and persistent efforts to dismantle the political, economic, and social structures that have a stranglehold on our community and city is laudable, especially considering that you have been fighting this same establishment for over 60 years now. You have taught me that giving up is not an option and that the system only wins if we stop fighting.
You, no different than many of our ancestors, have modeled for the next generation what it takes to effect change and I am inspired by your actions every day. Your perseverance is admirable and after the many battles that you have fought, you remain resolute in your determination to speak the truth as you see it for the betterment of the community. I pray often that God gives me the health and strength to carry on your legacy with the same honor and dignity that places you on a pedestal above so many other pseudo leaders in our community.
There is little doubt in my mind that but for you, I wouldn’t be the man that I am today. As far back as I can remember and even from the childhood stories recounted at family gatherings, it was clear that I required the most attention and redirection out of both of my siblings. As my brother highlighted in last month’s edition of Point of View, backing down from a position that I believed in simply wasn’t in my nature no matter how irrational the position may have been.
I must admit that stuffing rolls of toilet paper down the toilet and running full speed into a glass accent table shattering everything on top of it after being warned of the consequences in advance were not the positions that I should have drawn a line in the sand on. The very idea that you and my brother, who is only a year older than me, had established an agreement when he was 3 years old that when he yelled “Justin’s doing it!—you would drop everything that you were doing and come running to see if you could avert disaster—foreshadowed the work that you would have to put in to make sure I stayed the course throughout my childhood and, quite frankly. even now.
I am greatly appreciative and I can’t thank you enough that you never shirked from that work and were determined to be the father to me that you never had. The lessons learned were plentiful and way too many to highlight in this letter. However, the tenants of each lesson were the same. Hard work, discipline, respect, self-confidence, compassion, leadership, perseverance, never giving up and having an understanding of who you are and where you come from were foundational.
Even more important than the lessons learned was your constant presence.
You were present when I wanted to quit playing baseball for St. Catherine’s in the 8th grade after they benched me during the first game of the season for walking onto the field instead of running to assume my position. You didn’t care if I ever played baseball again after that year, but what I wasn’t going to do was quit on my team so long as you were involved in my life.
You were present in my Geometry class a year later when I was more interested in being the class clown than learning the Pythagorean Theorem. It didn’t take too many of your surprise visits to Central Academy for me to realize that learning a2 + b2 = c2 was a much easier proposition than having to face you when I returned home.
You were present when I was a Sophomore in high school and I thought I was too old to be disciplined by my mother. When the lack of respect for my mother became too much to tolerate, you forced me to sit in the infamous wicker chair every day after school where I would do homework until it was time for dinner and then I would return to the chair until bedtime.
The one time I defied your directive and thought football practice was more important than coming home to sit in the chair, you showed up to the field and had a brief conversation with my coach. No sooner than you left, I was immediately summoned off the field and disciplined twice that day: first by Coach McLaughlin (those who had him as a coach know what I mean) and then by my father when I finally arrived home.
Needless to say, the chair had its intended effect and while the actual time spent in the chair is always up for debate—(I say easily a school year and you always believe it was only a couple of months)—I can say with certainty that I was never disrespectful to my mother again.
You were present midway through my Junior year of high school. By then I had finally succeeded in convincing you and mom that I was just an average student until you made it clear to me that you were going to see fit that I graduated from high school and after that it was on me. I’ll never forget you saying that I could either go into the service, go to work, or go to college, but what I couldn’t do was remain in your house after I graduated. Up until that point I had not thought about my future, but I knew that if college was going to be a consideration, then I had to do much better than average from that point forward, which I did, thanks to you.
You remained present when I graduated from Central High School, the University of Virginia and Western New England College School of Law although your role as a father changed from disciplinarian to advisor. Even when I insisted on testing the limits of our relationship, you remained steadfast in giving me the most brutally honest advice that would help me navigate an unforgiving world. I always knew that you only wanted the best for me and would do anything it took to ensure that occurred.
As I now have a family of my own with my wife, Denise, and two sons, Justin Jr. and Jackson, my appreciation for all that you have done for me over the years has grown even more. You had already shown me how to be a devoted husband and an amazing dad and now it is my turn to show you that I was paying close attention.
Professionally, I always wanted to be just like you although I wonder now if there was an easier route. You were a teacher. I was a teacher. You are an attorney. I am an attorney. You own your own business and work for yourself. I own my own business and work for myself. You ran for City Council. I ran for City Council. You ran for Mayor. I ran for Mayor. You have never been afraid to speak truth to power and make some noise when it is necessary. And ever since you called me out in Point of View and begged for me to make some noise on the City Council, I have yet to stop.
At this point, I can’t even put out a press release without folks saying that you are my “ghostwriter” and giving you all of the credit. In fact, people attribute most of my success to you and the reality is you deserve all of the credit. You put together the blueprint for me to follow and although it took me a little while, I am now just executing the plan as you designed it.
What I respect most about the plan however is that it has never been about you or me. The plan has always been about uplifting our people and the community to believe in something bigger than what many of the so-called leaders in Springfield, both past and present, have been able to offer. Being bought by the administration, big businesses and non-profits at the expense of advancing the plight of the residents of Springfield, has never been an option for us, which is why we were able to create a “Movement” during this past mayoral election.
Speaking of this past mayoral election—the advice and insight you gave me was invaluable. We literally scared the heck out of the administration and all who would have fallen with a victory, including many in the media and some of our own people who chose to be on the wrong side of history. But their time will come soon enough and I can assure you that I will continue to fight until it does just as you have always taught me.

Thanks for everything and please know that there is no replacement for the best father in the world!

P.S. I forgot to thank you for having my back after the election. I know you wanted to say a whole lot more during the race, but, once again, your journalistic integrity caused you to refrain because it was the right thing to do. This is precisely why any boycott of the only Black newspaper in Western Mass that has been in business for the last 21 years never had a chance and we all knew it. While your articles caused a big stir at the time, you were merely defending your son, which any father ought to be able to relate to, while at the same time, touching upon some very valid points that needed to be said regardless of the reaction of some.
The establishment tried to destroy your legacy and what they should have known all along is that you are a warrior and warriors breed warriors.
2027 will come quickly and there is no telling what other battles we will have to fight before then. What I do know is that I don’t have to worry about you covering my six and you can be certain that you don’t have to worry about me covering yours.
Finally, I hope this letter will motivate you to write again. While Point of View has many great writers, you are by far my favorite.

Happy Father’s Day.

Love,
Your Son, Justin ■