Author Archives: admin

“Being a quality, present, active father is priority over everything. It is important that my daughter sees me as a supportive loving Black man, so she understands that this is the rule NOT the exception. …I hope that people will begin to realize that the images and social portrayals of Black men and Black fathers do not wholly encompass what we actually are. That there are Black fathers who are present and supportive and active. We are not just statistics, or ‘angry animals’ in need of incarceration or death. That our presence is needed and valuable to the growth and development of our kids, that we can not and should not be so easily dismissed. I want to inspire Black men to want to be present in the lives of their kids, to make being an ACTIVE dad cool. I mean it is pretty cool…it’s challenging, but the rewards are invaluable.”

“It’s a beautiful thing, a powerful thing. To watch my children grow is amazing. The Black Lives Matter movement has impacted me by making me more aware and appreciative of the moments we have together.”

“I worry about raising a son with autism. In a world that’s so cold and fast paced, will there be compassion and true love for my son after I’m gone?”

“In this society, I could lose my life at the hands of a paid government official, on camera, with my daughter by my side, and still be blamed for it or have it justified…even when the story comes to light and it shows an accidental killing. Black Lives Matter, in my opinion, is an outcry to this society to inform it of our collective humanity. All Black lives must matter. The impact that BLM has had on me has been huge. I can now stand firm in the very thing that I tried to highlight much of my life…and that is the injustice that black people face on a daily basis. BLM is fighting for equal justice under the law. In addition to that, I can talk more about the unwanted looks I get from white Americans when they believe I don’t belong in a certain space. I can talk about not getting a job because my name sounds Black. I can speak on the overall collective struggle of being Black in America and have more and more of my non-POC (People of Color) friends listen without invalidating my experience and chalking it up to paranoia. My anger, our collective anger, is a little more valid than it was in the past. My fear is that my daughter might have to struggle to make it to adulthood with a father. The overall fear is that I won’t get to raise her to adulthood because my life could ‘justifiably’ be cut short.”

“Being a father is the most important thing I will ever do and I wholeheartedly embrace everything this means. My two daughters, ages 15 and 16, are everything I could wish for – kind, smart and pretty well-adjusted. This is a combination of who they are naturally and the love and support poured into them by my wife and I, family and friends, coaches, and their schools.

Parenting is a work in progress – art and grind. What is successful one day fails the next. What is best for one kid may be the opposite of what the other needs. And, just when I it seems that I’ve figure something out, things switch up again. Every stage of their development presents a new set of tests. My attempts at meeting these challenges are seldom perfect but I try my best because in the end I simply want them to become the best possible versions of themselves.

In our home we talk a lot about politics, race, gender, as well as regular teenage stuff like music, school work, and friends. One of the most challenging things of late has been to explain why this country is spiraling, specifically leading up to and since the November election. I try to provide some historical context and reassure them that we will get through these dark times as well, although I know this not true for everyone. I try to impress upon them that we have an obligation to always stand with, and for, marginalized people and the issues we care about. Even at their young ages, they are have a strong social consciousness and are active in this emerging social movement. This makes me proud and gives me hope for the future.”

“It means a lot to be able to show people that we’re here; we’re raising our kids, loving our wives and are striving to be the best examples of men to our communities as possible.”

“Being a Black man and a police officer, the Black Lives Matter movement has affected me on all levels personally and professionally. In short, I hate that the argument makes you pick a side between supporting police officers or Black victims of police brutality. On the job, I know some awesome officers who want to do good in the areas they patrol. But on the other hand, growing up I often felt like I was targeted by police because of the color of my skin. My hope in raising a Black child is that one day she might only be judged by her character and not by the color of her skin. My fear is that society will remain the same and won’t change for the better.”

“To be a Black dad means providing love and strength for my children. I want them to love themselves and those around them. I want them to be strong individuals that understand who they are and where they come from.
My fear in this day and age, is that people are trying to rewrite history by undermining what Black folks went through (and still go through today). That said, I also fear that some of the blatant hatred from years ago is coming back to our society. For this reason, I need my children to understand who they are and that they have to advocate for themselves.
I think this country and the world we live in seems to have a bad representation of the Black family. There are plenty of Black families with fathers that are fully involved in their children’s life. I want to portray the visible Black father that cares about being with his children more than anything in this world”