I sat down one day and Googled the words, “single Black mother” and didn’t like what came up.

Statistics about single motherhood that reflected only on poverty, abandonment and the question of responsibility. The ‘baby mama’ stigma that separates Black mothers from the rest. I always felt like Black mothers - especially single mothers - had to constantly apologize for existing. For our children being boisterous or carefree. For wanting or demanding more from our lives. For settling into what works.

To me, single black motherhood is Maya Angelou. It’s Tina Turner, Solange Knowles, my mother Leslie. Single Black motherhood is a force because Black women are a force. Motherhood is not a super-power, but it’s certainly a legacy.

As a millennial mom, a single-but-co-parenting mom, a Black mom, a mother-of-a-son, a creative mom, my power comes from my tribe. I think the more we support each other, the higher we rise. The higher we rise, the closer our children get to the sun.

This is a newsletter about Black mothers in all their various shapes and forms and narratives. A celebration of us and a manifesto from us.