The Dad Gang is a world group based by Sean Williams, dedicated to altering damaging stereotypes of Black fathers and shaping the Black fathers of tomorrow.
Williams mentioned he started the group after a white girl at a retailer in Lengthy Island advised him she was glad to see that he “caught round” whereas procuring together with his daughter.
He mentioned this second compelled him to point out his neighborhood and the world what Black fatherhood can and may seem like. He created Dad Gang in 2016 initially via an Instagram web page that displayed constructive and actual examples of Black fathers.
Because the web page’s following grew and he held occasions like “Dad Walks,” the place fathers and youngsters stroll via an space to unfold positivity and present what Black fatherhood seems to be like, he realized that his newfound ardour reached additional than he imagined.
“Initially, my aim was to construct a platform that might change the narrative in media. So it was all about content material,” Williams mentioned. “And what then began to occur is I spotted the neighborhood I used to be constructing was not simply on social media. (With this understanding), our objective then developed into being a help system for dads.”
The Dad Walks characteristic a whole bunch of fathers who’re members of the Dad Gang, and he mentioned they’re strolling once more in Washington, D.C., Aug. 20.
He mentioned his relationship together with his father additionally prompted him to be a reliant and nearer father to his kids. He defined that his father, a Trinidadian immigrant, labored an incredible deal and supplied for his household, however their relationship was not shut.
He noticed his first youngster as a chance to be the dad he wished to have rising up. Williams mentioned his first youngster, born in 2005, was unplanned, however he ensured he can be an energetic and dependable father. He mentioned he’s delighted together with his relationship together with his daughter, who’s now getting into school and rising into maturity.
He mentioned that after graduating from school, marrying his spouse, and having two kids, the white girl’s touch upon his energetic parenting was offensive since he had already been a hands-on father or mother for years. He mentioned that led him to create the group and added he was accustomed to neighborhood constructing from serving as president of his fraternity.
The Dad Gang’s Dad Walks, Strollin’ with the Homies, stroller giveaways, and roundtable discussions help present and future dads financially and emotionally.
After the pandemic, many people had been unable to work. He mentioned, fortunately, his group partnered with Walmart to supply households with monetary help and procuring sprees for important familial gadgets.
The Dad Gang then started its nonprofit “Random Acts of Dadness” to solidify its help system with dads alongside Dad Gang. He mentioned these organizations helped him creator his first two kids’s books, Lady Dad and Boy Dad, to honor his youngsters.
His future plans embody engaged on publishing extra books for dads and youngsters and creating a podcast that may present listeners with private accounts of fatherhood for toddler dads to dads with grownup kids. He hopes these tales will make clear how fathers really feel and make individuals higher dads.“Our aim is to carry The Dad Gang to each main metropolis, spreading the phrase and exhibiting proof that Black fathers are, the truth is, very current and energetic in our kids’s lives. We intention to set the brand new normal of what Black fatherhood seems to be like worldwide. Solely then can we modify the narrative and normalize the robust presence of Black dads in right now’s society,” the Dad Gang web site reads.
