Happy Father’s Day! I know that both mother’s and father’s day can bring up many different emotions: sadness, joy, grief, anger, disappointment, gratefulness. For me, today has always been a day that I ignored. The grief of having an absent father or parent is a wound that no amount of therapy or prayer will ever truly heal. But even in my grief, I have had amazing father figures in my life. This post is dedicated to the fictional father figures I have had over the years.

1. Uncle Phil: The Fresh Prince was one of my favorite tv shows as a kid. It was humorous, relatable, and real. To me Uncle Phil was a true representation of a man. He was a devoted husband, father, and a pillar of his community. I saw in him what I envisioned in my father, and it helped me to see that the love you seek can be found elsewhere. Uncle Phil loved Will like one of his kids and we all know the scene where Will is crying over his father not being there and seeing his Uncle support him in that way, helped to heal me as well.
2. Floyd Henderson: If you never watched Smart Guy, then you truly missed out on a great show! It was hilarious, but I truly loved watching the relationship between Floyd, a widower who was raising his 3 kids alone. He sacrificed for his kids, and they were his number one priority. He chose them over love, and truly exemplified what it means to be a good parent.
3. Raymond Campbell: I’ll continue with the Mowry family and move to Ray from Sister Sister. Here is another example of a father who parented children that were not his and displayed that love is thicker than blood.
4. Oscar Proud: I was clearly a Disney girly growing up and loved The Proud Family! Though Oscar was deeply flawed, he loved his family, and he loved Penny. I always envisioned having a father who was deeply protective of me, and I loved seeing that depicted in Oscar Proud.

There are a few others, that with time have become bigger disappointments than inspiration not because of the characters, but the individual actors. I loved that these characters changed the narrative on what it means to be a father, a Black father, and a Black man. As an adult, I’ve rewatched all these shows and realized that I did have fictional father figures that I could look up to. This is why representation matters. This is why storytelling matters. This is why diversity in art matters. We are all carrying different versions of similar stories and by sharing those stories, we can help other people around us see themselves. That is how we heal.  Let me know who your favorite fictional fathers are in the comments below!