Black. Single. Mother.

Real Life Tales of Longing and Belonging

By: Jamilah Lemieux

Narrated by: Jamilah Lemieux, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, L Morgan Lee, Robin Miles, Cat Peoples, AhDream Smith

A personal meditation on, examination of, and tribute to Black single motherhood, unapologetically told through poignant essays and candid interviews by a celebrated cultural critic

“Jamilah Lemieux is one of the most important feminist writers of the twenty-first century.”—Brittney Cooper

With her signature candid, humorous, and sometimes biting takes, Jamilah Lemieux suffers no fools while also courageously revealing the scars of her own parenting journey and search for self-acceptance in a world that hates “baby mamas.” With a particular verve and relatability—honed in her many years among Black Twitter’s most prominent voices—Lemieux centers the complex reality of Black single motherhood: uncertainty and fierceness alike.

Black. Single. Mother. combines riveting personal essays, infused with whip-smart cultural and historical analysis, with twenty-one intimate first-person testimonies from a spectrum of Black single mothers. A long-overdue offering in celebration of the American matriarch most often maligned, Black. Single. Mother. sets out to inspire a new cultural and community dialogue about this powerful figure as one profoundly deserving of love, support, and respect.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of the Reading List from the book

Worth the wait

Been following since the blog. Incredibly touched by the journey and lessons shared in this book. The author owned her full story. All of it, the messy and difficult. She isnt caught up on the past and clear about areas of growth in the present. The vulnerable way she shares her dichotomy is exceptionally humanizing. Further, the personal narrative is brilliantly balanced by poignant research, she continues to educate us, as the modern feminist influencer she is and has always been. The vignettes are poetic and a lovely touch. I couldn’t be prouder of this book if I’d written it myself. I feel as satiated as I did when Durand won the Grammy and MBJ the Oscar! Excellent, excellent book!