Jesse Alex and Lamar Johnson Jr. CO-FOUNDERS of Dear Fathers

By Taroue Brooks

Tell us about your company and mission.

Dear Fathers is THE premiere media platform dedicated to telling stories of black fathers from all angles. We blend a mix of fatherhood and culture to show people what black fatherhood is all about. We have several exclusive content series to help tell the stories of all types of dads, giving our audience various forms of content to tap into. We consider ourselves like a Bleacher Report or COMPLEX for black dads. 

Our mission is to inspire, heal, and strengthen the black man.

  • Jesse Alex, Co-Founder 

Share details about your programs and the impact that it has with your demographic. 

We have various online and offline programs for black men to get involved with. Overall the impact has been being able to see fathers benefit from safe spaces to either share, listen, or better themselves through vulnerability and storytelling. Our goal is to have something for every type of father, no matter what you’re into. We’ve seen the impact these things have had on our community through the quick growth and testimonials. Being the ONLY media platform solely focused on telling stories of black men/fathers while also providing tangible resources for them to improve different areas of their lives has been special.

Dear Fathers Podcast Our podcast dedicated to telling stories of celebrity fathers and their journey through fame and fatherhood. 

STR8 Mental Our monthly private group therapy session led by two black male therapists. A safe space for black men to unpack, fellowship, learn, grow, and heal amongst one another.

Books x Bourbon Our monthly book club for black men, where guys come together to converse over the book of the month while sipping on the bourbon of the month, or a drink of their choice (bourbon not required)

1,000 Fearless Fathers our written storytelling series where every day dads talk what being a father means to them, their relationship with their dad, struggles they’ve faced, and more.

Dads In Delivery our written storytelling series where fathers talk about what they felt mentally, physically, and emotionally as their kids were being brought into this world.

  • Jesse Alex, Co-Founder 

How critical is it for fathers to be part of a child’s life?

It’s very critical for fathers to be a part of their children’s lives for a ton of reasons. The main one in my opinion is because having your father in your life helps instill some form of discipline. Children without their fathers around typically lack discipline in a lot of very important areas of their lives not all children but a lot.

  • Lamar Johnson Jr., Co-Founder

What is the most memorable experience you have had with this line of work?

It’s so many memories in such a short time but I would say the most memorable experience would have to be me reaching out to my father and starting to build some sort of relationship. Before launching Dear Fathers I never thought about getting to know my dad and I didn’t care to know him honestly. I figured “well I’m grown now so what could I learn or take from him at this age? “. Well things have changed and me and him aren’t best friends or anything, actually pretty far from that but while doing this work I have realized how important it is to have a relationship with your father and get to know the person who is literally responsible for half of who you are.

  • Lamar Johnson Jr., Co-Founder

How can people support your company? 

What are some things do you need to increase your impact? 

More Exposure – One thing we need to increase our impact would be exposure, that could come from more press or more people sharing our content online. More exposure could help increase our impact because then more people would be aware of us. The more people aware of us the more men we can provide our resources to and help impact our community of black fathers.

  • Lamar Johnson Jr., Co-Founder

Additional Funding – We’re currently doing all of this within our own budgets as we see the potential and growth in what we’re accomplishing. Help with additional funding will allow us to create more impact through resources for black men/fathers.. If you’re interested in donating to our initiative, please visit the link below:

  • Jesse Alex, Co-Founder

Where would you like to see your business in the next five years?

In 5 years we will be a household name amongst black families while continuing to provide even more resources for black men and fathers in need. Our goal is to by then also have an app where fathers can access content, inspiration, resources, as well as be able to subscribe to our subscription based platform to have more access to tools to become better men/fathers no matter where they are on their journey. STAY TUNED.

Jesse Alex, Co-Founder

CONTACT INFO

Email – contact@dearfathers.com

Website – dearfathers.com

Instagram – @dear.fathers

Facebook – Dear Fathers

About

What is Dear Fathers
The premiere media platform dedicated to telling stories of black fatherhood. We ignite the power of fatherhood and culture.

Mission
A platform built to inspire, heal, and strengthen the black man.