I Share Because You Don’t [Video from Beleaf in Fatherhood]

By Beleaf in Fatherhood

Transcript provided by YouTube. Edited slightly with AI. Please forgive any discrepancies with the original.

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You know, a question makes me sick and tired, well, actually not tired, but just sick. I get this question all the time, and it just makes me sick to my stomach because people assume that I’m exploiting my children for money. They think because I share my life, I’m exploiting my children, and they say, “Why do you feel like it’s okay for you to share so much of your life with strangers that don’t know anything about you? Why is that okay?”

And I think, to summarize that answer, is that I share because you don’t. I share because you don’t. Now, some people look at what I’m doing, and it’s not for them; they don’t understand it, and that’s fine. You may not need to see black love personified; you may not need to see a black husband, black wife, black kids, but I needed to see it.

It wasn’t showing in my neighborhood, only on one channel – The Cosby Show – that I see this, and that was scripted, that was manifested, that wasn’t real. And what you see here is real. It’s not coerced; I’m not trying to convince my children to be on camera. This is not me feeding them lines; this is real love. And so many of you guys ask me why I’m doing what I’m doing when you should be asking me how, because we need more people sharing their lives because there’s not enough proof of black love.

No, I know there’s proof of it, right? I know there’s imagery of it, but it’s not enough proof of the ins and outs and how this thing really works. Social media makes it seem so easy for you to have a life that is so enthralled with love; you can’t escape it. But the truth is, it’s hard work, and not enough people show that.

This isn’t for everybody; this is for a few people. If you feel like you’re called to be a part of a movement where we’re just showing proof of black love, I need you to make yourself known to me, at least because I want to help other people tell their stories like I do. And I’m not saying that I’m the example, right, or like I’m the black excellence or nothing like that; I’m just saying that I’m proof. I’m proof, my family is proof for you that you and your family could do it in whatever way you want to do it.

So many people in our community need our proof, but we’re so scared to tell our story because we want to keep things secret. We don’t want to share what’s really going on in our families, in our lives, as if everybody else ain’t dealing with it too. I know people are judging me, and I also know those people don’t got no lives. That’s on them. I’m here to be proof for those people who need it, and that may not be for you, but for whoever it is, welcome black.

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This post was previously published on YouTube.

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