Derrick Culpepper was just sharing a glimpse of his family's morning routine, but his video went all over the world as an endearing portrait of a father's love.
A 1995 graduate of Longview High, the Culpeppers now live in the Dallas area. Derrick is married to Lakisha and together they have three kids: 14-year-old D.J., 12-year-old Christine, and the baby of the family, Linda, who's 4.
In September, a video of Derrick doing his youngest child's hair started blowing up, nearly a year after he'd originally posted the clip. News had also just broken about the shooting of another unarmed black man by a white police officer, this time in Tulsa, Okla., which Derrick suspects had something to do with why his video resonated with so many Americans.
'People were angry at what had taken place,' he says, 'yet finding hope in what they'd seen through the video, from a black American.'
The clip shows Derrick, who shares morning routine duties with his wife, diligently brushing away while receiving plenty of sweet encouragement from little Linda.
'My family encourages me to be be the best Dad that I can be and I never get to catch these memories on video,' Derrick wrote in the caption on YouTube. 'I have been a barber pretty much all my life and still find it difficult to style my daughter's hair.'
However, he says, Linda 'keeps me encouraged' whenever he tries his hand at styling.
The clip begins with Derrick having already completed half the work on a pigtails hairstyle, then he asks his girl how he's doing. 'Good!' she replies.
As he grabs a bit more product to work into her locks, he asks her what to do next. She explains that he just needs to 'brush it then put a band on it!'
He follows her instructions and as he gathers the hair on the other side of her head as he brushes away, Linda tells her daddy that he is 'doing a great job' and that he is 'almost done!'
'Baby thank you so much, you’re so encouraging to dad,' Derrick replies with a smile, before fastening the bun with an elastic band.
After finishing up, Derrick asks, 'Alright, what do you think?'
Linda raises her arms, smiles and giggles with approval, turning to the camera to reveal her excellent hairdo.
In an interview with BuzzFeed, Derrick said he splits morning hair duty with his wife.
'It’s something that I had to learn because it’s what my wife needed me to do, ' he said. 'A lot of people are saying, 'I wish my dad had done that,' or 'I wish my husband could do this.' It seems to me people are looking for something that reflects something positive, especially for Black Americans.'
Derrick said his daughter also does the same thing to his wife and that they try to provide an environment for their daughter where she feels encouraged.
'She does it to mom as well because that’s the way we are around home, we encourage each other and build each other up. In this house we are real,' he said. 'We give hugs, we love, we have fun, and we give second chances. This is just how we live and how we raise our kids to be encouraging to one another.'
'I try to do the best I can to capture some of these moments,' Derrick added. 'You don’t know the moments are coming and by the time you get the camera it’s usually too late.'
