A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez

I’ve never met Wendy Williams. But learning she has aphasia and frontotemporal dementia triggered a familiar sense of grief and sympathy. My grandmother had dementia, more specifically, Alzheimer’s, and passed from the condition in 2015. It’s hard to explain the hurt of witnessing a loved one lose the qualities that make them who they are and gradually become someone you don’t recognize.
But Williams’s news offered a more universal lesson too: dementia doesn’t discriminate based on class, inc...

Reminders that Black birthing people are more likely to die in childbirth are everywhere. Respect for our preferences, rights and stories appear much less.

Postpartum depression was the catalyst for the authentic styling that has become fashion designer and "modern housewife" Shaquita Garcia's calling card.
Shaquita Garcia, a designer, mother, and founder of streetwear clothing and hat line AART NYC who is also known as @theemodernhousewifeny on Instagram, has enjoyed expressing herself through clothing since she was a little girl. Her earliest inspiration was her father. Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, she was heavily influenced by seeing him le...

Organizations like Brown Girls Do Ballet and Alvin Ailey are leveling the floor for Black performers who have historically been excluded from the art form.
When Takiyah Wallace-McMillian’s daughter, Charlie, expressed interest in ballet in 2013, she was determined to make it happen. She was thankful she didn’t have the financial concerns her parents faced in childhood. But a new barrier surfaced in their wake. Despite being in Dallas-Fort Worth, one of the most diverse areas in the country, W...

Black parents are particularly vulnerable to the pressure to remain positive in a challenging world.
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By A. Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez , Contributing Writer
Published December 6, 2023
NEW!
Fact Checked by G. O’Hara
It’s no secret that the transition to motherhood brings many contradicting emotions. Pregnancy symptoms, postpartum healing and adapting to taking care of baby all bring a complex mixture of highs and lows. But navigating these shifts as a Black woman adds another layer....

No one sat me down and said, “This is what a good mother looks like,” before I had kids. They didn’t need to. I watched the “make a way outta no way” example my mother, aunts, and grandmother provided and drew my own conclusions. As a child, I saw women who missed sleep and meals, working themselves to the bone and giving until nothing was left. I knew Black motherhood was less talk, more action, and often easier to show than tell. But when it was my turn to step into the role, I felt it.
I l...

Cross-cultural dialogue, especially among moms of color, can build new narratives that challenge the legacies of white supremacy and foster healing.
I learned early on that the words “family” and “parent” invisibly imply white. I saw no mothers who looked like me, a coalition-minded Black mama whose agenda spanned multiple marginalized groups in parenting literature, support groups, or even my social circles. The limited representation in media frustrated me and made the hard work of motherin...

Mothering is a never-ending job, and the pressure Black moms face is immense.
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I felt overwhelmed by the impending trials of Black motherhood from the moment I saw my positive pregnancy test. Even before my first ultrasound, a whirlwind of transitions, statistics and assumptions swooped in, snatching any hope I had to focus on the excitement of this milestone moment. I quickly learned that pregnancy was basic training for the battle of mothering while being Black. There were no da...

I’ve seen generational trauma leave holes in our family narrative: More stories ended with “and they refused to tell anyone what happened” than I could count. Struggling in silence has hurt all of us, especially mothers and caregivers. Because I wanted better for myself and my children, I started working on a plan to parent from a place of self-awareness and freedom even before I was pregnant. But the truth is, all too often, generational trauma in Black families is nurtured by silence. To ge...

The notion that Black people don’t get depression is a pervasive myth. The reality is that Black Americans do get depression, but they may not always get the proper diagnosis or treatment for it. (Decades of research back this up.)
One factor is clinical depression being more likely to be misdiagnosed as schizophrenia than others. Even when Black people show signs of major depressive disorder (MDD), they’re 3 to 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders than wh...

Pregnancy can be full of joy, but it’s also understandable if the maternal health crisis has left you feeling vulnerable. There are vast disparities in care depending on your race and where you live, and the maternal mortality rate is tragically high, especially among Black, American Indian and Alaska Native moms. Many other populations, especially members of the military community and immigrant families, face additional concerns about giving birth too.
Moms aren’t responsible for solving thi...

I know there’s never been a better time to be a Black mother, even though it doesn’t always feel like it.
I often reflect on how small things, like my children playing loudly in our backyard, would be impossible in a different time or place. My heart aches knowing I experience a level of freedom and agency the mothers in my lineage couldn’t visualize, let alone exercise. Still, the artifacts of injustice don’t feel distant. I see the afterimage of “whites only” signs every time I blink. I los...

Escaping to the mountains or beach for some exercise and fresh air is good for the body and mind. But until the last several years, participation in activities like hiking and surfing has been largely white. Even after segregation, a long history of blatant or subtle discrimination and microaggressions, as well as lack of access to nature, are some barriers that have kept Black Americans away from these spaces that so many people love.
A new generation of Black outdoor organizers is challengi...