We just don’t get enough credit for being the fantastic parents we are, so MyBrownBaby is dead-set on giving credit where credit is due. A round of applause for MBB’s Dad of the Week, who is also the brains behind the children’s book series, “Ruby & The Booker Boys,” and the generous donor behind MBBs first contest. To find out how you can win an autographed set of Barnes’s books, click here. And then come back and find out more about MBB’s Dad of the Week.

My name is… Derrick D’wayne Barnes

I live in Kansas City, MO, but my roots are firmly planted in Mississippi.

My brown babies are Ezra Langston, 8, Solomon Matthew, 4, and Silas Nathaniel, 2

I make a living making up stories, places and people to hopefully inspire brown babies all over the world.

The last time my kids cracked me up my 4-year-old was brushing my 2-year-old’s hair, and I heard him from down the hallway tell his little brother, “Hold your head up high, Black man!”

The last book I read with my kids was “Uptown,” by Bryan Collier; real good brotha.

My favorite place to take them is The Children’s Museum in St. Louis; we always have a great time there.

My proudest dad moment was when both of my big boys received academic accolades at their school ACECC (Afrikan Centered Education Collegium Campus) last week on the same day. I was a beaming brown daddy!

My most embarrassing daddy moment was the time when I locked my eldest son, then around eight months, in my truck with the engine running. I scaled the walls of our apartment, climbed through the patio door and found the extra key. I was embarrassed and terrified.

The thing I most want my children to know is God is real in everything that we do and everything that we see, and that all things in life are possible.

The one family tradition I hope my kids continue when they grow up is having dinner every night, in the kitchen or in the dining room, without the presence of a TV, with their families every night.

If I could invent one thing to make being a dad easier, it would be wait, it already exists–a personal chef. Everything would run smoother if we didn’t have to worry about what’s for dinner.

The best invention for kids ever is books.

The kid snack I'm most likely to get busted eating is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fruit snacks.

The most important life lesson I want my kids to learn is It’s never over, it’s never done. Get up and look forward to tomorrow.

The one thing no one knows about me is I love, love, love an album from a 90’s British band called the Sundays, entitled “Static and Silence.” You gotta check it out.

The thing I lost as a dad that I wish I could get back is my sense of invulnerability. As a very young man, you feel as if you can break bricks and bend iron; fear is not a part of your vocabulary. But when you have children, it is no longer about you. Invulnerability becomes a very tangible care and concern, and ultimately, you become hopelessly, helplessly vulnerable.

My I'd Rather Be bumper sticker would say in Barbados with my fam!

Find out more about Derrick Barnes and his series, “Ruby and the Booker Boys,” here.

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13 Comments

  1. Great Profile! I’m looking forward to reading more of these.

    I grew up in the midwest where values are central. I like what Mr. Barnes is instill in these young boys.

  2. Michele@Integrated Mother

    Nice to read the inside skinny on the author who wrote a book my daughter loves. I showed her this post. She loved reading about Derrick and seeing the pic w/ his kids. It’s so fun to humanize the authors of the books she reads. Thanks for highlighting Derrick!

  3. Renée aka Mekhismom

    What a great feature. I look forward to reading about more dads on MBB.

  4. Awwww! What a wonderful dad & such cute little boys! The book series looks wonderful too.

    I applaud your effort to choose a "Deserving Dad" and post him. Dads need more credit 🙂

  5. what a handsome family you have!!

    trisha
    momdot.com

  6. I simply love this blog and I am happy that I found it. My husband is a SAHD and he is awesome!

    I applaud your efforts and will look forward to reading about more of your articles.

  7. Thanks for introducing us to a wonderful dad… AND, thanks to that dad for being so wonderful =)

  8. Great article!

    It's so wonderful to see a Brown Father doing his job & loving it! 🙂

  9. He sounds like such a great dad and I love that you are choosing to feature dads on your blog. They truly don’t get enough credit for all they do!

    And how awesome would it be to have a children’s literature author as your dad? He probably inspires creativity in them each and every day.

  10. It’s wonderful to see a Dad, doing what God created him to do!

  11. Totally loving the salute to MBB dads. Also, I thought the Dewar’s style lead-ins for each question were super clever–GENIUS:)

  12. i loved this part: “Hold your head up high, Black man!”‘

    soooooooo cute!!!

  13. Loved this. It prompted a 20-minute conversation between me and my husband about table rules for our son.

    Great blog, I’m really enjoying it.

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