For centuries, there\u2019s been a false assumption that Black fathers are absent, apathetic, and uninvolved in their children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stereotype of the absent Black dad remains quite ubiquitous in popular culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It often takes the form of a dysfunctional family unit, but in recent years, studies have proven that the stereotype is nothing more than a myth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That legend is further vaporized in the new children\u2019s book, \u201cI Love My Daddy,\u201d by Maryland social worker and military veteran Juanita Banks Whittington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 27-page book, complete with fascinating illustrations by Ananta Mohanta, celebrates what Whittington calls \u201cthe unique and special bond between a father and his little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It follows a father and his baby girl, who play together in parks, and the doting dad reads bedtime stories each night to his beloved daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Whittington, the book opens her home to readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It reveals the camaraderie between her and her husband, Ian, and his routine of doting on their daughter, Zuri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy husband reads to my daughter every night,\u201d Whittington told the National Newspaper Publisher\u2019s Association\u2019s Let It Be Known.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n She said her husband helped inspire her to write a children\u2019s book about the relationship between a Black father and his child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe kept telling me he wasn\u2019t seeing Black fathers in children\u2019s books,\u201d Whittington said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was always the grandmother and child, or the mother and the child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, I went to friends and family members, and they said they liked the idea, and I went forward and found an illustrator that I liked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She noted that it was a must that the illustrator could relate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd he was everything I was looking for, especially in the illustration to portray all the things that go on in my household,\u201d Whittington said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A military veteran and social worker, Whittington is the founder of Nehi Cares<\/a>, a consulting, foundation, and wellness business that focuses on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion and helps individuals understand the foundations of wellness by practicing healthy habits daily to attain better physical, social, emotional, and mental health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whittington holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore and a master\u2019s in social work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her friends and loved ones said Whittington has always displayed a passion for helping, which comes across in \u201cI Love My Daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanted to make sure that I did [the book] right,\u201d Whittington explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanted to make sure that it was something that other families could relate to. So many people have said they wanted to write a children\u2019s book after seeing and talking with me, so I wanted to portray something positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMany times, in our community, there\u2019s this negativity about Black fathers, so I wanted to make sure that, regardless of their race, people could pick this book up and say, \u2018It\u2019s awesome. I could relate to this, and I want this for my child.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI Love My Daddy\u201d retails on Amazon.com<\/a> for $14.99. Click here for more information and to purchase the book.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For centuries, there\u2019s been a false assumption that Black fathers are absent, apathetic, and uninvolved in their children\u2019s lives. The stereotype of the absent Black dad remains quite ubiquitous in popular culture. It often takes the form of a dysfunctional family unit, but in recent years, studies have proven that the stereotype is nothing more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[354,118,1350],"class_list":["post-2234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-black-fathers","tag-childrens-book","tag-i-love-my-daddy","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2235,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2234\/revisions\/2235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}