Father In Focus: Lamar Tyler

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This is a Dad I've been itching to feature. Because he's a particularly busy man I had to be patient as I waited for him to have the time to be interviewed. His name is Lamar Tyler he is the co-creator of Black And Married With Kids and Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage. He and his wife, Ronnie, have been instrumental in utilizing the Internet and social media to promote the very obvious fact that there are good African American men out there who are wonderful fathers and husbands. The Facebook fan site for his recently released documentary, Happily Ever After: A Positive Image of Black Marriage, currently has 22,700 fans and is expanding at an exponential rate. If that isn't a testament to fact that better manhood, fatherhood and husbandry isn't (and always has been) alive and well in communities of color, I don't know what is.


Where do you live?
LT: DC Area

What's your occupation?
LT: IT Manager for a Broadcast Television Station

How many children do you have, how long have you been married?
LT: 4 Kids 4 Years

When did you start blogging and what inspires you to blog?
LT: December 2007. The desire to challenge stereotypes about marriage and parenting in the black community.

What does being a dad mean to you? How does being a man of color impact this?
LT: Being a dad means being the one the entire family leans on. Being the backbone of the family and setting the vision for my wife, my children and myself to share. Being a dad of color means I have to ensure that my children understand that anything is possible regardless of how they see their culture portrayed around them.

What has been one of your most memorable moments as a father? As a husband?
LT: Definitely the birth of my children on the larger scale and that was memorable from both the standpoints of a husband and a father. On a smaller more regular basis coming home to a loving family that bum rushes you at the door is memorable even though it happens every night.

What advice/recommendation would you give to someone about to become a father and/or husband?
LT: Be responsible, take the approach that if not you then who? You are the final stop gap for your family and that responsibility weighs on your shoulders. Also the relationship that you have with your wife and directly with your children will directly shape how your little boys or little girls relate to their spouses and children years from now.

If you could accomplish anything through your blogging, what would that be?
LT: Generating more awareness of the balance that exists within the black community instead of just the negative that's always portrayed. Also making it known that marriage is a possibility to those who live in communities where they may not see successful marriages on a daily basis. That is the total goal of Blackandmarriedwithkids.com and the Happily Ever After documentary.

Lamar Tyler


www.blackandmarriedwithkids.com


www.happilyeverafterthemovie.com


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