Taye Diggs Bonds With His Son Over TikTok, But Reading Has Always Been Their Family Tradition

Award-winning actor Taye Diggs has always loved to read. As a child, he spent time reading with his parents and passed that tradition to his 12-year-old son Walker Nathaniel Diggs.

The father of one is also an author. Diggs has written five books addressing friendship, race, or identity while centering Black and mixed-race children with their families.

His most recent book, Why? A Conversation About Race, addresses racial injustice directly and supports parents in their efforts to explain things like marches and protests to their children. Books aren't the only avenue Diggs uses to discuss race and identity. His character Coach Billy Baker on the TV drama All American is another avenue for Diggs to have such conversations.

"As a Black father, the challenges of parenting can look different, especially when it comes to helping your kids navigate the world and their identity," says Diggs. He believes his Coach Billy Baker character reminds Black parents they're not alone in their efforts to help their kids be proud of who they are. "That's something that Coach Billy Baker has had to deal with in the show, but it's also something I and other Black parents experience as well."

But as anyone who has seen Diggs knows, he's not one to limit himself to any one persona. He uses his social media to make us laugh. He credits his son with his latest fascination: TikTok. "It's kind of his fault!" he says. Diggs has more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok after being on the app for less than a year.

"TikTok has been such a fun outlet for me and a great way to bond with my son," says Diggs. "I'd be lying if I said he wasn't embarrassed of me being on TikTok sometimes—weren't we all embarrassed of our parents at his age?"

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None of this has stopped him from writing books that bring families together and remind Black and mixed-race children of the magic of their uniqueness. Diggs encourages other parents to create new family traditions with reading.

Recently, Diggs jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with the Lucky Charms brand to tell Lucky leprechaun's backstory through The Magic Inside. The book is a coming-of-age story about Lucky discovering his magic. It introduces readers to his home on the border of Humanland and Fairyland, his friends, and his family—including his human mom and twin brother and sister—for the very first time.

"Like Lucky in The Magic Inside, we've all felt pulled in different directions or like we didn't fit in and having the ability to show the importance of celebrating what makes us different is something that has inspired my writing," says Diggs who read the first chapter of the book live on Lucky Charms Instagram for Read Across America Day in early March.

Families can join Diggs in a recorded virtual read-along or read the 10-chapter The Magic Inside book free online. Like his own books, Diggs believes books like The Magic Inside can inspire the next generation of readers to celebrate their differences.