Marches Aim to Link Black Fathers, Schools

National project tries to engage men in children's educations.

Capitol Heights, Md.

It was the first day of school, time for Joseph Robinson to engage in his yearly ritual: He walked his four sons into their elementary school and met their teachers.

“I never had a father to do this for me, and it feels good. It’s my duty,” Mr. Robinson said last week outside the front doors of William W. Hall Elementary School, a brand-new K-6 school here. “It lets the teachers know that not just the mom is involved, but both of us are. And it makes my sons straighten up and stand proud when I come with them.”

In bringing his children to school on Aug. 22, Mr. Robinson joined hundreds of parents in this Washington suburb and thousands of others nationwide who are taking part in what is billed as the Million Father March when schools open in their cities. The second annual event, organized by the Black Star Project, a nonprofit organization in Chicago, is a bid to get parents involved in their children’s education. As of last week, 79 cities in the United States and New Zealand...