Read the Introduction for “God Has Smiled On Me”

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” (Exodus 20:12)

There is a lot said, today, about black fathers not being responsible and staying with their children and taking care of their families. Well, this book is about honoring and paying tribute to those black fathers who, against the odds, have chosen to do the responsible thing and stay in the lives of their children. My father was one of those men.

This little book is a simple expression of appreciation and love for a good and loving father by the name of Daniel White Jr. Although he was not a perfect man, he made the decision to stay with his family no matter what and by doing so, he gave me the great benefits of his presence in my life, and of not making me a child of divorce. It is my hope that this statement does not offend those who grew up not knowing their natural father or not having the benefit of having him in the home. Even though I had a few holes in my soul that needed to be filled while growing up, thankfully, the painful hole that could have been caused by divorce was filled by a loving dad who did the responsible and right thing and who, quite frankly, put up with a lot of disrespect and foolishness to stay with his family.

I am also writing this book for the following three reasons:

To give God glory, praise, and honor for providing earthly dads for us and for being the ultimate Father.To show honor and pay tribute to all the black fathers, both past and present, who stayed with their families and trained up their children in the way they should go. The black community is as strong as it is because of them.To honor and pay tribute to the millions of good black mothers, such as my favorite aunt, Rebekah Credle of James City, North Carolina, who, by God’s grace, after being divorced from an abusive husband, single-handedly successfully raised five boys, who all graduated from college. My hat is off to the millions of black mothers who, down through the years, had to be the “mother and the father” to their children.

Ultimately, the aim of this book is to turn the hearts of all fathers—black, white, red, and yellow—to their children, and to encourage fathers to stay with the children they have and raise them for the glory of God.

—Daniel Whyte III
Dallas, TX