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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cBlack father, I saw you yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You were walking down the street pushing a stroller with a tiny pink princess backpack hanging off your shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your daughter was giggling hysterically as you made silly sounds to keep her entertained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, I saw you a few weeks back at the doctor\u2019s office waiting anxiously for them to call your newborn son\u2019s name. You cradled him while you spoke so gently about what was going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, I saw you holding a college textbook in your hand while your little boy grasped the finger on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several years ago, I saw you in a courtroom fighting for custody of kids that weren\u2019t biologically yours because their mother could no longer care for them, and you couldn\u2019t bear the thought of them being separated from their siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, I saw you verbally tap dance when the police pulled you over. Carefully annunciating every syllable and narrating your movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was pulled over to make sure the interaction ended with you alive. We locked eyes. You waved to me as you drove away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, last week you led prayer over your family before loading up the car to embark on a road trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, I saw you last summer running football drills with the neighborhood kids in hopes to keep them off the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I see you fight systems that were not meant to be won all in the name of survival, but your audacity and tenacity don\u2019t end there. You walk through a world where you\u2019re stereotyped to death, but you still rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not too long ago, I saw you don your military uniform. You just had your new set of stripes sewn on, but the uniform must come off sometime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black father, I saw you today when that security guard called you \u2018boy.\u2019 Your crown did not fall. It\u2019s not tarnished. Your ancestors\u2019 tears, fears, hopes, and dreams polish it for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n