Mommy’ing while Black is an art form. It is being with your Black son while sipping a latte at Everybody’s Playground; a constant state of cultural plethora while being mommy. My view on the playground, my travels there and interactions will always also include the layers of being a Black woman. It is an intricate part of my mothering journey not a burden however but it is a topic that is not and can never be exclusively for people of color. Here, thru “Say Hey to Mama” I openly discuss our aspirations, challenges, differences and love in plain sight view; mommy’ing while Black is not a secret discussion. I want mamas to know it more than correct to look like us on the park bench, nature trail, a farm and a playground too. This is my homecoming, being me in the mommy’ing world while being Black. I love on mamas of color publically and you should too. Art visually is the lines, colors, textures and shape of the piece, and for the most part mamas are seen; you view the outer layer I appear nice, and I’m Black. However to feel our art, go beyond and make a connection to the craft of mommy’ing while Black. When you listen to Beyonce you accept that she is an amazing talent and a Black woman but when you watched “Homecoming” you experienced her passion and history that encompasses her and it was at the forefront to be enjoyed by all. “Hey Mama” is that art, Hey Mama will never become Hello, Mother yet its permissible for anyone; you really can say “hey!”. My concerns particularly for mamas of color, and the need to be visual and advocating parent and child activities does not mean I do not support all mothers but it does mean I put forward the outreach to Black mothers who have not been reached out to and or represented. Thank you for noticing my Blackness, but also take note that we are mothers accomplishing amazing feats daily while embracing each other out of isolation and that is mommy’ing which is a universal tongue like music.
It is a saying we hear constantly “becoming a mother will change your life” and clearly it will: your body transforms, you actually multiply physically as well as your caretaking responsibilities. Additionally, you change. Each day as a mama I find myself reaching and embracing the values most important to me while reaching my most genuine and true self. We are mamas doing mommy’ing things and we want to embrace and be accepted as so, and we don’t want to leave our culture behind to be acknowledged. The conversations and initiatives on motherhood are complexly layered and we are intricate in the development and ongoing progress we add insight to topics that cannot be ignored from postpartum, breastfeeding to parenting development. Matter of fact, without diversity and without including everyone discussions cannot move forward. At no given time when viewing an advertisement for items from a humidifier to baby furniture did I think to myself that product is particularly not for me and they don’t want me to buy it based on the fact that the images in the advertisement aren’t Black. Sidebar: of course I think may advertisers could use more color…it’s a completely different story if the so called company never uses diversity or never seeks to meet the diverse needs of various cultures.
Yet, the concept of Hey Mama ever being perceived as we/I do not want non-Black parents due to the leadership being a Black woman makes the problem more about you than the skin color on this page. With Yonce’s (yeah, we cool like that) Homecoming (yes, I”ve waited this long to blog) I realized our most natural similarity, and a similarity of many of us; we are and will not apologize for being Black and honoring ourselves as Black women on a platform; the two aren’t a threat to either.
With that said, I hope we all continue to appreciate, support and love the content of “Hey Mama” as a mama of color or not.
Say Hey to Mama 