It all started with a trip to the splash pad. I?d stopped at the drugstore along the way to pick up some sunscreen?I was concerned about the effects that the blazingly hot sun would have on my two-year-old?s skin. (Sure, we?re black, but our melanated skin isn?t 100 percent foolproof against UVA rays.) So, there I stood, facing a sea of sunscreen bottles, wondering which one to choose. Spray versus lotion" High SPF versus waterproof" As I looked around the store, I wondered who I could ask to find out which one wouldn?t turn my son?s beautiful brown skin a weird shade of grey.
Like many women, I?d joined a few mom groups on Facebook after giving birth. I wanted to celebrate wins like sleeping through the night, decipher what that rash might be, ask if breastfeeding should be this hard and cry over spilled milk?literally. Motherhood united us across cultural, geographical and religious lines, but the sunscreen question made me realize that there are key differences. There were going to be some questions that I wouldn?t be able to ask in general mommy spaces without crickets at best or vitriol at worst. I needed a place where I could ask questions that were relevant to my life. Hair products and sunscreens were just the beginning of black-specific parenting questions I would have. I needed to be able to talk to moms that looked like me and would get it. I needed a space where I could ask where to find black dolls, discuss how to explain the N-word and talk about the...