BLACK FATHERS EXIST

Hey gang, I hope you all are hanging in there. Quarantine continues to be a rollercoaster of emotions for me and quite frankly I’m ready to get off. Like sir can we please stop the ride I changed my mind. One day everything is “open” the next day, the virus is surging. I don’t even want to get into the non-stop fire works in my neighborhood as soon as the sun sets. Enough already guys. People are just bored, BORED.

On a lighter note, my company has been closed all week for summer break and I can’t express the complete and indescribable joy I’m experiencing right now. I have not been on a Zoom or Microsoft Teams call all week and it feels good. I honestly didn’t want to touch a computer this week but I couldn’t let the week pass without dropping a little bit of this black boy joy in your laps.

BLACK FATHERS EXIST

Say hello to Raoul (my dear friend and husband to my bff Amanda) and Ricardo (my husband, you’ve seen him before)! Neither one of these men are even close to being Hispanic but their names are. We laugh about this all the time because people always assume they are Hispanic. But boy are they surprised when they first meet either of them…lol  What’s important about these two aren’t their names. It’s what they do and who they are. Aside from my father, these guys are two of the hardest working, loving, caring, and dependable fathers I know. Bubba (Raoul’s nickname) is a police officer in D.C. and Ricardo is a field tech with Century Link (a tele-com company).

Both of these men have been on the front lines since the start of the pandemic as they are both considered essential workers in their respective fields.

They also happen to be amazing fathers and husbands. Initially, I wanted to shoot them at home doing dad things. On the grill, playing dominos, you know real cheesy stuff…lol But the more I thought about it I knew I wanted to send a stronger message with the imagery for these two. I couldn’t think of a more fitting place than Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C.

The message here is simple, Black Fathers Exist, Black Lives Matter, not just to us and our families but to everyone. And before you all get your proverbial panties in a bunch, yes of course all lives matter. But at the moment ALL lives are in constant jeopardy, black lives are; especially black men’s lives. Humans are visual. Nothing like a big ole yellow sign to remind those folks who tend to forget.  For far too long we’ve been fed the narrative that black fathers are all deadbeats, unavailable emotionally even if they are present, incapable of raising loving, caring and compassionate little humans.

Well I’m here to tell you that’s a wildly FALSE narrative.

You’re looking at two of the finest examples of caring and compassionate men, loving partners, and amazing fathers. 

Neither one of them had the greatest relationship with their own fathers. And for that reason they’ve both made it their mission to be the best dads they can. I am a firm believer in giving folks their “roses” while they’re still here to enjoy them. Good fathers should be recognized and lifted up everyday. Not just on Father’s Day. The Black Fathers Exist brand celebrates black fathers everyday. When I saw the messaging on the Black Fathers Exist t-shirts I knew I had to shoot the guys in them; fashion with a message. This is my salute to all the Black fathers out there, you are beyond essential, you are loved, you are appreciated, you exist and most importantly your lives MATTER.

Peace and love

-Andrea