Events

The Co-Parenting Awards Ceremony is a powerful opportunity to celebrate co-parents for their exceptional work raising their child(ren) together. The brainchild of Frank Love, who partnered with journalist, Jonetta Rose Barras, and Esther Productions to address the pervasive narrative in our community that suggests that when two individuals cease to share romance and have children together, that they must fight one another along the way.

Frank Love and Esther Productions does not buy it. And to change this conversation decided to celebrate the co-parents that are working together effectively and in harmony.

The inaugural event took place in our Nation’s Capital on June 2, 2018, where Sunshine Muse and Yohance Maqubela were celebrated.

More than 50 percent of all marriages in America end in divorce. In many cases, those unions produced children, who often are traumatized by the separation of their parents. Frank Love and Esther Productions Inc. believe there are ways to minimize the negative consequences for children, families and communities.

Co-parenting is a viable solution that allows parents to work together, in harmony, to advance the interest of the child and to forge, in some cases, a new definition of family. Everyone, the adults, children, and the community in which the family lives, benefits from such an arrangement.

Considering the positive outcomes for everyone, Frank Love and Esther Productions Inc. have joined together to encourage more co-parenting in the Washington Metropolitan area and the nation. Hence, the 2018 Co-Parenting Awards has been born.

Frank Love is dedicated to assisting African-American men become more loving parents and partners. The organization, led by relationship thought-leader, author, speaker and podcast host, Frank Love is dedicated to challenging and assisting men in examining their beliefs, behaviors and actions so that they can effectively participate in the relationships that they hold dear. Frank tours the country speaking at conferences, universities and other gatherings about parenthood and relationships.

Esther Productions, Inc. is a thirteen-year-old, nonprofit, 501 c (3) tax-exempt educational, social, arts and cultural corporation based in the District of Columbia. Since its inception in 2004, it has served thousands of individuals and partnered with dozens of organizations and businesses in DC and other states.

Deploying the arts—visual, performing, and literary—as its chief vehicles, Esther Productions, Inc. enhances the academic achievement of children and youth from depressed, underserved or under-resourced communities; empowers girls and women, particularly those traumatized by parental loss or abandonment; and strengthens families, providing them the personal and communal skills sufficient to navigate socio-economic challenges while celebrating their histories and cultures.

Its signature program is The Fatherless Daughter Reconciliation Project, which consist of several components including general education seminars and workshops; Fatherless Daughter Speak Outs, Daughterless Father Speak Outs, Daughters Circle, and THE GIFT: An Interactive Arts Healing and Reconciliation Experience. Esther Productions also continues to provide its Training Institute in the arts, journalism and business development. Finally, the organization’s staff and board of directors have made themselves available to other groups interested in addressing the issue of loss and family trauma.

Esther Productions, Inc’s work is guided by a small but dedicated board of directors. Often the board enlists additional experts, celebrities and citizens from affected communities to help design and plan programs, ensuring their authenticity, integrity and effectiveness. All programs are evaluated by members of their target audience and independent external consultants.