Daddy Doin' Work blog founder Doyin Richards was shocked to learn that this photo he posted to his Twitter and Facebook pages was going viral.
At Jezebel, Richards writes:
At last check, the photo was shared over 4,800 times, received over 3,000 comments, and was liked over 190,000 times. The photo was also 'borrowed' by at least 13,164 Facebook pages before I could watermark it (OK, maybe not 13,164 Facebook pages…it was probably closer to 23,164 Facebook pages). That was a head-scratcher for me, because I never experienced something like this since I started blogging.
Yes, the picture is adorable and portrays Richards—who was home on paternity leave—as a skilled multitasker. But it appears that the photo took off because folks took this image, an image of a black father doing fatherly things, as rare. (While you're here, read this study from the National Center for Health Statistics that found black fathers are more active parents than fathers belonging to other groups.)
Richards eloquently responds to all of the negative reactions to the picture—which include, of course, ridiculous comments about the race of his wife and children. He's hoping the hoopla around this photo will create opportunities for us to change the narrative about fatherhood. But we think he sums it up quite nicely with this: "I have a dream that people will view a picture like this and not think it's such a big deal."
Read his entire response to the photo at Jezebel.
Akoto Ofori-Atta is the editor of The Grapevine. Like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.
If you want to see what's hot on black Twitter, check out The Chatterati.Akoto Ofori-Atta is the editor of The Grapevine. Like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.