What Type Of Dad Are You?

Deadbeat and Missing are two common terms associated with Black fathers. But they are so much more than the popular narrative suggests. This project began with the simple question: "Why don't I hear more about all the different types of Black fathers I know?" So I got my camera, notepad, and my recorder and decided to document all the different types of dads that I come in contact with. Here is a compilation of the thoughts and experiences of everyday Black fathers.

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“We’re from that background where kids should be seen but not heard. You know that Caribbean mentality where you’re not really allowed, from an adult kid standpoint, to voice your opinion. The parents know. They say. You follow. I came to understand my dad more when I became a dad. I started to see through his lens and started to understand why he did what he did, why he said what he said, and how he really meant some of the things that came off that I didn’t like when I was younger. But he always showed me love.” #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #blackandwhite • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 1 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

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“He doesn’t like working out, period. He'd rather play games and watch tv, to be honest, but we struck a deal. He gives me four days and he does what he wants with the other three days. I'm trying to hold him to his commitment. He's quit before. Twice. But, I know this journey isn't only about what he thinks he wants... but what he must overcome. He must move outside of his comfort zone to do greater things in the future... By doing this he'll be able to do any sport, not just fencing. He'll have the muscle tone and explosiveness to tackle any sport." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #blackandwhite • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 2 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

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Robert Barnes | 2 Kids | Long Island, NY • Part 3 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Long Island, NY)

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“This is all for them. I wake up, breathe, eat sleep for them. There’s nothing that I want for me that comes before them. Everything I do, everything I touch, everything I think about is for them... for their future. I consider myself having no life. They are my life. This is my life... I’m a dad and everything else is secondary to that role..." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 4 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

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Robert Barnes | 2 Kids | Long Island, NY • Part 5 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Long Island, NY)

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“We home schooled our kids last year because he was doing terribly in school... It was tough. It has its own challenges and we overcame them. He went back to school this September. We had a heart-to-heart and I told him, 'Look I know you can do it. Here’s what I want from you. I want you to come back with an 80 percent average in everything. That’s all I need from you to start. That’s all I ask from you.' Boom. He gets back to school. Dude's getting 90s. Dude's getting 80s. Dude's getting 99, 97. I’m like, 'Wow, this dude got it.' Now his report comes out... He didn’t show me the 50s. He didn’t show me the 40s. Like he couldn’t come to me and say, 'Dad I didn’t do so well in this subject.' I felt like I failed him in that moment where he felt like he couldn’t show me the 50s and the 40s." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #blackandwhite • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou • Part 6 of 6 (at Long Island, NY)

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Vernon Hutchinson | 2 Kids | Brooklyn, NY • Part 1 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Brooklyn, New York)

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Vernon Hutchinson | 2 Kids | Brooklyn, NY • Part 2 of 6 • #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers (at Brooklyn, New York)

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"Sometimes they see things on the news and I explain what’s happening in that situation and I explain why. I think that’s a big thing. You see someone get hurt: ‘Hey why’d that happen? Someone got beat up. Why?’ We have to deal with the fact that there are people out there who may want to harm you. There are people who will want to keep you in a lower position but you should always strive to be your best self. Always be great. And recognize who those people are so that you can protect yourself from them." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers #twins • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou Interview by @rhonflatts & @auntiealex_ • Vernon Hutchinson | 2 Kids | Brooklyn, NY • Part 4 of 6 (at Brooklyn, New York)

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"You gotta be there for your kids. It’s more than money but it includes money, it includes time, it includes friendship, life lessons, it includes discipline, and love. You have to make your kids feel you. You don’t want to go through life and your kids can ever see something on TV and they go, 'you know what, when they say bad stuff about Black fathers they’re right 'cause my dad did such and such…' I don’t want them to ever have anything like that to go on. I want them to go, 'Umm. Nah. Not my dad.'" #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers • Check out the rest of his photo story here: @whattypeofdadareyou Interview by @rhonflatts & @auntiealex_ • Vernon Hutchinson | 2 Kids | Brooklyn, NY • Part 6 of 6 (at Brooklyn, New York)

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn, NY | Part 1 of 6 #whatypeofdadareyou #blackfathers

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn NY | Part 2 of 6 #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn, NY | Part 3 of 6 #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn, NY | Part 4 of 6 #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn, NY | Part 5 of 6 • • In this photo Negus is teaching his son about crystals and the "different frequencies and vibrations crystals have and the importance of the energy from each of them." • • "Whether it be my knowledge of health, my knowledge or writing, my knowledge of history, knowledge of self confidence, whatever… I want everything that I know to be passed down. I don’t want anything to get stuck with me because if it’s stuck with me it dies with me." #whattypeofdadareyou #blackfathers Interview by @rhonflatts & @auntiealex_

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Negus Adeyemi | 1 Kid | Brooklyn NY | Part 6 of 6 • • "We’ve been showing him to be proud of himself. Letting him know his ancestry, where his grandparents came from. Be proud of that. Be proud of people of the whole diaspora. Know that you’re African first and be proud of that… Know that you’re an original inhabitant of the earth, of the planet. Don’t let anybody try to belittle you or tell you that you’re not important because you know you are. So if anybody tells you that, know they’re lying to you. I’m building up his confidence and building up his self love cause I feel that you can’t love anybody else until you love yourself first." #whattypeofdadareyou #fatherhood #blackfatherhood

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Part 7 of 7 | Lamar Coombs | Brooklyn NY | 2 Kids | "I’m a hands-on dad... I believe that I’m their superhero." #whattypeofdadareyou