Episode 16: The Race Divide in Motherhood: Why White Moms Must Use Their White Privilege To Elevate, Center & Support Moms of Color

In this week’s episode (Episode 16) of Supermom Rehab podcast, I get to speak with Sara Dean, creator and host of the Shameless Mom Academy podcast, about the divide that exist between black and white mothers and the historical legacy of mistrust that exists among many moms of color when they enter white mom spaces. There aren’t that many candid conversations between white and black moms that center specifically on race, and we speak on how moms of color can no longer give white moms a pass for not acknowledging their privilege and not using it to elevate, center and support the voices of moms of colors, which often get shut out of so many conversations. We spoke about how it is insufficient for white moms to be allies and how moms of color are waiting for  white moms to be proactive in becoming accomplices and dismantle the structures that perpetuate racism.

 

Some of the points that Sara and I discussed were:

The importance for moms of color to have their own spaces and why white moms should respect those spaces. Sara’s personal story that opened her eyes and the need for moms of color to get comfortable with calling out white moms who aren’t practicing inclusivity Sara spoke about the need for white moms to be courageous enough to get uncomfortable and have conversations about race- and how silence is actually reinforcing structural racism. I discussed anxiety that many black mothers have when leaving their children in predominantly white spaces, such as schools. I also discussed how many black moms have valid suspicion when they enter spaces with white moms because many times their needs are marginalized or not included in conversations. Sara’s journey of how she is moving from allyship and how we as moms of color should demand for white moms to be proactive in becoming accomplices. I spoke about my privilege as a black doctor and how looking at how we want white moms to show up is helpful to think about how I need to show up for black moms who may not have the same privileges I have. Sara also talked about the power of social media to allow us to get more educated without putting the onus on those who are even more marginalized and to eliminate our desire to ask others to educate us.

Links mentioned in the episode:

Sara’s podcast, The Shameless Mom Academy and her Episode 311: Acknowledging and Navigating my White Privilege

So You Want To Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad

Rachel Cargle’s website

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski, PhD