In honor of Father’s Day, we’re outlining some of best representations of the black father on television. We all have our favorites, but these 10 stand out in the pack!

Check out the list below:


10. Ray Campbell

Ray (Tim Reid) was a loving, single father to his adopted daughter, Tamera, and then became a surrogate father to Tamera’s long-lost twin sister, Tia.

9. Julius Rock

Stingy, yes, but Julius (Terry Crews) was also incredibly loving and a strong provider for his family.

8. Bernie McCullough

Taking in your sister’s kids and treating them as your own is the makings of a great father. Not only was Bernie McCullough (Bernie Mac) a great onscreen dad, he was a hilarious one, too.

7. Carl Winslow

Whatever you say about Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson)’s respectability politics on Family Matters, you can’t deny he was a great father and tried to use his position as an officer to better his community, despite the mixed results.

6. Lester Jenkins

With an all-star cast like this one, don’t forget about 227 when it comes to listing top black comedies, and Hal Williams as Lester Jenkins is an underrated portrayal of a black father!

5. George Jefferson

George (Sherman Hemsley) literally moved his family on up! When you think about it, The Jeffersons was one of the first few times we actually saw black people not taking s**t from white folks — and George Jefferson was golden!

4. Fred Sanford

The relationship between Lamont and Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is probably one of the best father-son relationships in not only black television history, but television history in general. He wasn’t always perfect, but he was a great representation of a black father.

3. Cliff Huxtable

(No we’re not talking about Bill Cosby, we’re talking about Heathcliff Huxtable)The Cosby Show dad will always be the prototype for the on-screen black dad.

2. Phillip Banks

Watch this iconic scene from an iconic episode of American television, and that’ll answer your question as to why Phillip Banks (James Avery) is one of the top black fathers on television.

1. James Evans

James Evans (John Amos) has a goal to move his family out of the ghetto, and while it didn’t happen until after he passed. He worked hard for his family, no matter what sacrifices he had to make. Aside from this, he was also a very real portrayal of a black father onscreen and not a perfect image concocted in our minds.

 

Who are your favorite on-screen black dadsLet us know in the comments!

 

READ MORE:

7 Of Our Favorite Black Mothers In Television History

 

Photo: CBS