JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Al Pete has seen the power of social media first hand. It all started with a shirt he saw online that says "Black Fathers Matter."
“This is an applicable shirt and it applies to me and applies to so many situations around. I found the contact, which was Greektown Apparel Company. I hit them up, PayPal and I bought it,” he explained.
Shortly after, Pete posted in the “Black Fathers Matter” group on Facebook. That got about 500 likes, but after a day or two, something changed. The message really started resonating. Comedian D.L. Hughley even shared it on his Facebook page, which was the catalyst for it being talked about from coast to coast.
More than 17,000 likes and 7,900 shares, most from people Pete doesn’t even know.
“When someone told me I went viral, I said, 'this might be serious,'” he said with a smile.
Not only is he a hip-hop artist and D.J., but Pete is a proud father of DeJuan and stepfather to Jade, who both are excelling.
“I was able to raise my son. He’ll be 18 next month, graduating from Lee. It’s a remarkable story in regards to working and all this stuff that I went through, making sure he was taken care of.”
Pete is referring to the stereotype a lot of black fathers face: deadbeat dad, irresponsible, not involved, lots of children. He encourages his fellow black fathers, and all fathers to keep going.
“Just keep being in these kids life, and it’ll click.”
Pete is working with the Northeast Florida Fathers Taskforce on future projects. He also plans on teaming up with the creator of the "Black Fathers Matter" T-shirt – who's based in California. If you want to snag a shirt, click here.
Cox Media Group
