This is the first full-length explicitly identified autoethnographic
text on African American motherhood. It shows the lived experiences of
Black motherhood, when mothering is shaped by race, gender, and class,
and mothers must navigate not only their own, but also their children's
positions in society.
Ferdinand takes an intimate look at her mothering strategies spanning
ten years (from 2007 to 2017), preparing her daughter to traverse a
racist and sexist society. It is a multi-generational text that blends
the author's experience with that of her own mother, grandmother, and
her daughter, to engage in a larger discussion of African American/Black
mother/womanhood. It is grounded within Black Feminist Theory, which
centers the experiences of Black women within the domains of
intersecting oppressions. It is from a very personal position that
Ferdinand provides a glimpse into the minutiae of mothering that reveal
the everyday intricacies of Black women as mothers. It highlights
specific strategies Black mothers use to combat discrimination and
oppression, from teaching their children about the n-word to choosing
positive representations of Black identity in movies, books, dolls,
daycares, elementary schools, and even extra-curricular activities. It
shows the impact that stereotypical manifestations of Black femininity
have on Black women's experience of motherhood, and how this affects
Black women and girls' understanding of themselves, especially their
skin color, body shape, and hair texture.
As an interdisciplinary text, this book will be reading for academics
and students in a broad range of fields, including Education, African
American Studies, Communication Studies, Women Studies, Psychology and
Health Studies. It is also a handbook of lived experience for Black
mothers, grandmothers, and daughters, and for all mothers,
grandmothers, and daughters irrespective of color.
