Happy Father’s Day!

The word Influencer has become synonymous with Social Media. It actually has its own definition in terms of marketing- Influencer Marketing. An influencer is defined as someone who has: the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience; a following in a distinct niche, with whom he or she actively engages. And while most people get hung up on the “power to affect purchasing decisions” piece, I think it’s much deeper than that.

Most people do not enter the influencer world with the intention to affect other people’s purchasing decisions. That’s usually a by-product. I believe most people enter with the intention to motivate and inspire others within the specific niche. There are all types of influencers, whether it be fashion, fitness, lifestyle, and our favorite; Parenting.

Becoming a parent is a joyous occasion. It is life changing! But it can be scary as hell! So, there is nothing wrong with looking to other parents for advice, fellowship, or relief. It’s nice to know there are people out there just trying to figure it out too. But like most things, when corporations become involved, there is a hierarchy, which usually leaves Black Men at the bottom.

For years, there has been a negative stigma surrounding black fatherhood. It’s often portrayed that black men are dead beat dads or they don’t play an active role in their children’s lives. From that has grown a community of Black Dad Influencers. Black Men who are trying to break those generational curses, who are trying to change the narrative, and who are showing the world that we are just as involved, loving, and present as any other race.

This Father’s Day, we want to salute the Black Dad influencers! We are counting down the Top 25 Black Dad Influencers to follow on Instagram! Now, there are a lot of Black Fathers doing their thing on the internet. It was hard to compile this list, but to keep it fair and unbiased, we used metrics that include number of followers, engagement, longevity, type of content, etc.

The intention of this list is to celebrate and highlight black fathers doing their thing. But remember we are not monolithic people! Certain content may resonate with you over others, so I encourage you to check out and follow everyone on this list as well as seek out other Black Dads doing their thing.

Let’s jump right in!

25. Chris Kyle (@christophe_kyle)

Chris is a husband, father, and entrepreneur. He went viral for a post showing him seated at his daughter’s, Ava, kitchen playset, giving her a review. The post not only was cute, highlighting his baby girl as a chef and entrepreneur, but it also became a PSA about supporting black-owned businesses. Chris post consist of him being with his family and running his two event-based businesses.

24. Glenn Robinson III (@ari.foundation)

Glenn is the son of Glenn Robinson Jr. and also plays basketball himself. He is also a father to a little girl named Ariana. Glenn III founded a non-profit called the ARI (Angels are Real Indeed) Foundation that is dedicated to empowering fathers and fatherless families. His page is dedicated to highlighting other fathers doing their thing, as well as him and his daughter and the work they do for the Foundation.

23. Anthony Rush (@rushanthony)

Anthony is a husband and father to two boys, Harlem and Bronx. He is the founder of the Created for More brand, a brand that exists to inspire and remind all that through Christ, we are more than the world says. Anthony’s page is full of photos highlighting his beautiful family and himself, with captions full of lessons, from Self-Growth to Walking in Your Purpose.

22. Devonte Bennett (@theycallmepapabennett)

Devonte is a husband and father to three boys. He is a published fatherhood blogger and a Marine Veteran. His page is dedicated to sharing knowledge that has helped him grow in an effort to help others grow. Not only in fatherhood, but in your marriage and personal growth as well.

21. LaTroy Tillery (@lovethetillerys)

LaTroy is a husband and a twin dad. While his page recently became a joint page with his wife Nicole, it still offers much value in terms of growing as a father and family. Their page offers a lot of advice about changing your mindset to become a better version of yourself. And not to mention beautiful photos of their family and their twin Dalmatians.

20. Van Phillips, Jr. (@whatmyteacherwears)

Van is a husband and father of two. His page not only highlights him in his fatherhood journey, but also highlights him as an educator. It also follows his journey as he builds his clothing brand, Redefining the Black Man, which aims to “reverse engineer negative stereotypes and create positive characteristics while celebrating being black.”

19. Kirk Brown (@kirkandre)

Kirk is a huband and father. He is also the Chief Development and Communications Officer at the Ron Clarke Academy in Atlanta. His page highlights him being a great father to his little girl, along with footage from the great things they do at the Ron Clarke academy.

18. Marcus Tankard (@marcustankard)

Marcus is a husband and father to 3 boys. Marcus’ page is dedicated to highlighting his life with his wife and children through their faith. He is also a Pastor and Author which also shines through his feed.

17. TJ Davidson (@tjdavidsonfilms)

TJ is a husband and father to four kids. He is also a talented videographer and photographer. His page shows how he manages being a husband and father to four as well as camera tips and tricks. He also highlights different short films and projects he’s worked on.

16. James Meeks (@iamjamesmeeks)

James is a husband and father to three children. James co-hosts the Dear Fathers podcast as well as the Life Partner Gang podcast with his wife, Tina. James has a unique way of marketing both podcasts, by luring you in with a photo of his beautiful family and providing captions with value and how it pertains to the specific show he’s promoting.

15. DK Williams (@detroitfather)

DK is a husband and father. He created the group #dadinfluencers, which is a community for every day dads who reflect the true narrative of fatherhood. DK’s page is full of photos of him and his daughter working on projects or doing fun activities. As a DADvocate, his page has a lot of value to fathers!

14. D’Anthony (@dad_vlog)

D’Anthony is ha husband and father to two children. D’Anthony’s page is a highlight of #dadlife. It features a lot of clips from their YouTube channel, The Dad Vlog, which is his show about a millennial family that is trying to normalize the image of a black family and share stories from the lens of a dad.

13. Lorelco Mulzac (@lorelco.mulzac)

Lorelco is a husband and father to twin boys. He is a jack of all trades: preacher, musician, author, and podcast host. While his page is used to promote all his endeavors, it mainly shines on his family and what life is like with twin toddlers.

12. Nick Washington (@w_nick12)

Nick is a husband and father of 3, with one on the way! He is an army veteran, family man, owner, and investor. His feed is full of the hilarious Reels/TikToks he and his family make. They are very good at showing a positive black family structure but making it funny and relatable.

11. Tay Kabs (@tay_kabs)

Showing love to our brother from across the pond, Tay is a husband and father of 3. He is a content creator who vlogs his families adventures. You may recognize him from his hilarious exchanges he has with his daughter Maliya in the car.

10. J.R. Rivera (@_jrrivera)

J.R. is a single father of two young children. He is also a Keynote Speaker, Educator, and Author. His feed is full of inspiration. Either, it’s videos or pictures with him pouring love into his children or him giving you motivation to be a better version of yourself!

9. Chico Conaway (@chicodsolo)

Chico is a husband and father. He describes his daughter Brooke as partner in crime. In his feed you’ll find hilarious videos of their adventures along with some nice family photos. There is also inspiration for Entrepreneurs as Chico is owner of Gainz Sportsgear.

8. Kyren Gibson (@kyng_kyren)

Kyren is father to 8-year old Kyng. They went viral when Kyren was quizzing Kyng about financial literacy. They have an activity book for kids about generational wealth building as well as a flashcard app designed to teach kids financial literacy. Their feed is dedicated to their mission of continuing to teach people about financial literacy as well as a father raising a young king!

7. Muhammed Nitoto (@chroniclesofdaddy)

Muhammed is a husband and father to six! He describes himself as a Dad-Vocate, Writer, and Creator. His feed is mainly dedicated to his adventures as a Stay At Home Dad to his youngest two daughters. His captions could be blog posts as they are often long, but hold a lot of value, especially one that went viral as he explained why he takes his daughters in the Women’s bathroom!

6. Kennith Thomas (@kennyclutch_)

Kennith is a husband and father of four. He is best known as the Dancing Dad after a video of him dancing for his youngest son went viral. He was trying to keep his son encouraged and fighting as he battled Leukemia. His son has since survived the cancer. Kennith believed a positive mindset is what helped his son and his feed is full of positive messages and teaching others about the power of positivity.

5. La Guardia Cross (@laguardiacross)

La Guardia is a husband and father to two little girls. La Guardia is a video creator and his page is full of clips from his YouTube channel as he has funny exchanges with his daughters, who already have big personalities. It’s bound to give you a daily laugh.

4. Sean Williams (@thedadgang)

Sean is a father of 3 and founder of The Dad Gang, which was designed to celebrate, redefine, and defend black fatherhood. He shares more of his life on his personal page @sean4real, but on The Dad Gangs page, you’ll find posts of him being a father and sharing stories of his journey as well as other videos/photos of black fathers around the world being active, present fathers.

3. Kier Gaines (@kiergaines)

Kier is a husband and father to a little girl. He’s also a licensed therapist, so it’s really fitting he went viral in video encouraging men to deal with their past trauma before becoming fathers or entering into serious relationships. And in his feed, you find a mix of him being a great family man and girl dad, along with addressing mental health issues and encouraging people to take care of their own mental health.

2. Glen Henry (@beleafmel)

Glen aka Beleaf in Fatherhood, is a husband and father to four young children. He’s also an emcee and video creator. He describes his page as sharing his story to equip fathers, bring hope to mothers, and inspire children. He has a way of breaking down fatherhood in funny, relatable instances as well as create music to be the backdrop to his content and it all ties in so perfectly.

1. Devale Ellis (@iamdevale)

Devale is a husband and father to three whole boys (as he and his wife like to say). Devale is now probably most recognized as an actor, but for a lot of us (black fathers) he was one of the first people we saw on Instagram highlighting being an active, involved father. He actually used the skits he filmed with his family and their YouTube page and transcended that into an acting career. And though his page is used to promote his various projects, it’s still real heavy on the dad content.

We, at Dear Fathers, want to congratulate all the brothers on this list! Thank you for your part in changing the narrative. I hope we were able to put you on to some people who are really making an impact online. This list could’ve easily been a Top 50 and beyond. There are so many more black fathers that are using their platform to change the narrative.

For the influencers that did not make the list, keep grinding and remaining consistent. This is just the first year.

For the readers, check these guys out and keep your eye out for some of the influencers that did not make the list this year. A great place to start is to follow the hashtag #dadinfluencers.

Salute to all you brothers on this joyous day! Hope you all have a great Father’s Day!