Always Smile at Babies: Lessons From My Father

Editor's note: this post was originally written in 2018, and has been updated to celebrate our CEO Chris Stewart's birthday. 

Perhaps the most important act a father can do for their child, is to inspire them. Inspire them to strive for greatness, to make something of themselves, and to work toward leaving a mark in their short time on this earth.

In this, my father has succeeded. The inspiration I take from the way he lives his life is immeasurable.

I owe so much of who I am to my dad.

He’s taught me, by example, a certain type of responsibility. A responsibility to be empathetic to the plight of others. To never look down on someone because of their circumstances, and to help those who are less fortunate.

The life lessons he has bestowed upon me were both explicit and a product of observation.

As a kid, he made me write book reports during the summer. There was research on civil rights heroes and Black icons. We set aside weekends to try the food of a different culture each week. He inspired me to make something of myself (it’s a process) and impressed upon me the challenges I would face as a person of color. He doubled and tripled down on the importance of education, and not becoming a statistic.

I never wanted to let him down. But, I found this to be healthy motivation, as I always felt like the only way to do so would be doing wrong by others or failing to follow through on our unspoken deal of completing my educational journey.

I’ve learned from my dad (and my mom as well) that such a large part of parenthood, especially when you have kids young, is sacrifice. Sacrifice of resources and time to make the life of your child better, and easier than your own. And even sacrifice of dreams, goals and the life you may have previously envisioned.

My dad made those sacrifices, and committed himself to ensuring I (and now my younger siblings) have everything we need to succeed in life.

Seeing my dad’s embrace of Black fatherhood convinces me of the importance of highlighting successful black fathers. Every kid out there deserves the same life lessons, inspiration, and expectations i’ve received. We deserve to see these stories of exceptional Black fathers that we know exist, even if the narrative is that they don’t.

I’m no longer a kid, but I am still learning from my dad, even in his old age (he not so recently passed the big five-o).

In a society that has somehow gotten to the point where “social justice warrior” is a derogatory term, my dad persists in fighting for those who are most vulnerable, and encouraging others to do the same. He’s dedicated himself to making whatever impact he can in the lives of the marginalized, discriminated against, and systemically punished in our society.

As the CEO of Education Post, he works to make sure the endless untold stories of loving Black fathers get told and that every child has a village who will fight for them to get the education and life they deserve. In a country and world that fights to maintain the status quo, this can seem an impossible task. 

For his birthday, I wanted to highlight the person i’m lucky to call dad. To put out into the world at least one more story of Black excellence in fatherhood.

My favorite line of advice he’s ever given me?

Always smile at babies. 

I love you, dad.