I never set out to be an African-American Mom Blogger, but 4 years ago, when I started this site to share stories of motherhood, I became exactly that. I mean, I’m Black. I’m a mom. I blog. Put it all together and what do you get? Well, I’m not the only one out here, and I’ve been so fortunate to be able to meet and interact with influential women of all colors to share stories, market products, and create a community online. I’ve tried to be completely inclusive during this time, but the reality is, we are different. We have distinct voices and experiences that are shaped by culture and race, and there is nothing wrong with that.
It’s okay to be different.
It’s okay to write about those differences, and to say, “I don’t relate to being an African-American mother, but I’d like to know more”, or “I love the city! I could never live in a rural area like you, but I’d like to know more!”. More than anything, it’s okay to acknowledge that African-American Mom Bloggers DO exist, and that there is quite frequently a disparity in lists and other blogging opportunities when it comes to including us. We know it, we see it, we FEEL it, and it’s not going to change unless everyone, Black folks, White folks, Asian folks, Hispanic folks, etc. start talking openly about it.
Look, y’all. This isn’t a post to get folks up in arms. At large, the internet, and specifically the mom blogger community, is a beautiful place to be filled with lovely, gracious, generous folks. This isn’t personal. This is about a systematic challenge that we’ve been facing for some time, and that people are chatting about in private Facebook groups, in one on one dinners, and on off-air Google Hangouts. I’m just putting it out here to start the conversation. And really, if you can create a list of 50 mom bloggers and not include ONE African-American blogger on that list, we need to talk. Come on agencies and brands, come get some of this $1.1 trillion dollars Black folks are projected to spend in 2015.
I’ve heard it said that there aren’t a lot of African-American Mom bloggers, or that the quality of work isn’t up to industry standards. Some folks have said that Black Mom bloggers can act entitled, or that they don’t have the reach or influence that other bloggers have. Well, maybe. But that’s across the board for all races of bloggers, don’t you think? In every industry, there’s good, better and best. Rarely, if ever, are those distinctions based on the color of a person’s skin.
Starting a conversation…and a list.
In addition to this conversation, I’m starting a list of influential African-American Mom Bloggers. These are people that I know, either in person or over a period of time online. Not only are they great writers, but they are supportive and understand the meaning and value of helping other bloggers out. I can and will vouch for these ladies. This list is not complete, and if you check back tomorrow, I’m sure there will be more folks added. Let’s add to this list. I’ll update it frequently. There are a few Moms on this list who aren’t African-American, but they are raising African-American children. See, the Black diaspora goes beyond the surface, and that’s next on my list of things to do…let’s go deeper into culture and tell richer, more interesting stories.
African-American Mom Bloggers You Need To Know
Get to know me, Brandi from Mama Knows It All
Amiyrah from 4 Hats And Frugal
Natasha from Houseful of Nicholes
Sili from My Mamihood
Joyce from Mommy Talk Show
LaShawn from Everyday Eyecandy
Kira from The Afropolitan Mom
Michelle from Divas With A Purpose
Jennifer from Cherish 365
Ashley from MommyWeek
Onyi from Sincerely Onyi
Diane from PhilZENdia
Adanna from Rattles And Heels
Makeba from MelisaSource
Bernetta from BernettaStyle and The Knighten Project
Dawn from Mama Harris’ Kitchen
Amanda from Dude Mom
Aaronica from The Crunchy Mommy
Mimi from Unlikely Martha
Ruby from Growing Up Blaxxican
Amber from From Carpools to Cocktails
Dani from OKDani
Letroy from Thriftanista In The City
Tara from The Young Mommy Life
Danyelle from The Cubicle Chick
Janeane from Janeane’s World
Pam from Still Dating My Spouse
Kesha from We Got Kidz
Deanna from Mommy Gaga
Sheena from Sophistishe
Mandi from Chewsy Lovers
Heather from Diary Of A First Time Mom
Edited To Add: Add YOUR LINK
If you are an African-American Mom Blogger, add your link to the comments. Or if you know someone who should be on the list, drop their link! There’s no need to be shy or humble. Your voice is important!
“More than anything, it’s okay to acknowledge that African-American Mom Bloggers DO exist, and that there is quite frequently a disparity in lists and other blogging opportunities when it comes to including us. We know it, we see it, we FEEL it, and it’s not going to change unless everyone, Black folks, White folks, Asian folks, Hispanic folks, etc. start talking openly about it.”
Best line ever. We won’t get rid of the separation until it doesn’t separate us anymore. 🙂
I completely agree. Best line EVER and it has to be a conversation that people get comfortable with being uncomfortable and get to the real nitty gritty. Let’s start talking. Awesome post!
Thank you for this great list. I’m so excited to read some of these African-American bloggers. It makes me feel less isolated in the blogging world.
I had to read this twice. Had to. Thank you for bringing into the forefront what has been discussed, in depth, offline or in personal online groups. We ARE different, and while we may not always mark ourselves as “the black blogger,” our stories are interesting, relevant and thought-provoking. They are also a great background for brands that are looking for storytellers to introduce their products to online and offline communities. We aren’t being utilized like we should, and I think brands are going to start to change that.
Aww sookie sookie now. Thanks for this list! I follow a great many on the list but will be following a few that I hadn’t yet. This post was needed. And I hope we can continue the discussion and the spotlight of moms of color. And those, stats, honey. Men lie. Women lie. But numbers DON’T! AMEN! 🙂
Thanks for this! I’m knew to your blog and will definitely start following! I’ll be sure to support the ladies on your list, as well. Some of them I know personally and love them to pieces!
I noticed a similar list the other day and was so surprised something like this hadn’t been done before. So happy to see this. I’d also suggest Denene from MyBrownBaby.com She’s amazing.
Yes, I agree with the recommendation of Denene!
Great list. I’m a big fan of a lot of the ladies listed, and some of these blogs are new to me. I think brands are slowly going to come around and realize that we black mommy bloggers are a voice they NEED to have telling stories about them. We’re just too important and too influential to continue to overlook.
Thanks for adding me to this and thanks for writing this post. You are so right about being recognized. We are here! We want to work with brands! We want to attend conferences and consistently be better. We write great content, we have followers, we are a brand. Who doesn’t want to noticed and appreciated? We’re here, come get some of this 1.5 trillion…!!! Love it.
I follow many of these amazing women and I’m happy to find new friends to follow. Thank you, dahlin’! I’m off to add them to my Sun Kissed Lovelies list: https://twitter.com/SheenaTatum/lists/sunkissed-lovelies
Oh, if you’re looking to add… may I suggest Tara Jefferson of theyoungmommylife.com and Jennae Petersen of greenandgorgeous.net?
XOXO,
Sheena
Good job Brandi. This is the tip of an iceberg
Thanks for this post. I totally agree and would love to see more African American mom bloggers in the room at places like Mom 2.0 and Type-A. We had some great conversations that would have been complete with more voices included.
Great post and great topic. I’m not a mom and so I often feel very isolated in the blogging world. There just aren’t many people like me out here. I know a few of these faces and I’m happy to learn about the others. It is true… varied experiences are wonderful and necessary.
This list will be huge in no time. Thanks for sharing and putting it out there. When I started blogging about my journey, I wasn’t aware that there were so many African American mom bloggers out there.
Awesome post! Add me to the list please 🙂 Ashley @ http://www.mommyweek.com. We exist, ie. Black Mom Bloggers, and our content & reach is amazing!
I love this Brandi! Thanks for the inclusion as well as your voice. We are influential and diverse. Can’t wait to watch the list grow.
Great post and list! I’m familiar with most, but not all.
Beautiful Brandi!! I can’t wait to dig into these blogs. And thank you so much for including me!! I’m totally honored. <3
In order to culture my own children, these lists are necessary – thank you for sharing and I am so proud to call many on this list my friends!
Such an important conversation! Thank you for including me and pointing out that I am sharing my perspective of raising mixed race family. These lists (and brands) are missing on working with diverse bloggers who also have diverse audiences.
great list!
I’m proud to be on this list of amazing influencers, especially during a week when another list of top bloggers was released that had very few moms of color.
We are different.
We have voices.
We matter.
Thank you for including me on your list!
Yes, as a mother and a woman of color, I want to read about mom issues and love it when they include women who look like me. Thank you for some new blogs to add to my reading list.
What a great group of ladies! I also follow most of these blogs but there are so many I don’t. In the last year or so of blogging I’ve noticed how African American mom bloggers are overlooked or not in the for front. It’s great to know that they exist. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful!!! So glad you shared this and are delving into this issue. Diversity is much needed in this space.
This is a great list and as you can see, African American bloggers fill every niche that there is to fill. Please keep letting them them know that we are out there and our dollars want to be spent.
Great post! Thanks for getting this conversation going!
So happy to see this list! Thank you for putting it together!
LOVE the list, thanks for including me! I’m gonna have to get to know some of these ladies! There are not many of us, thanks so much for this.
Wanted to come back and add Desiree Peeples from MommyReporter.com. Great blogger and vlogger!
Thank you for including me in this diverse group of accomplished women! I know most of them, but this gives me some new ones to view as well. I’d like to add Tonia from The Chatty Momma and Ashleigh from Being Cheap is Easy. Thanks for a wonderful list Brandi! <3
Amen, amen, AMEN! Beautiful piece. Thank you so much for including me on this list. 🙂
Great post! I would like to suggest Melanie from ShesWrite.net, Denene at MyBrownBaby.com, and Karen of Chookooloonks.com.
Interesting list. A few blogs that are new to me. Gonna check them out. There’s def way more “Black Bloggers” (I use cause not all identify as being “Afro Amer”) out there then people take time to recognize.
I can’t agree more.. It saddens me to see list of exceptional bloggers be handpicked by brands and not see diversity! Thank you for including me! As a mama of mixed- Mexican and Black kids I want to see more diverse conversations! Thank you for getting this started!
Thank you for bringing the conversation out in public. I will recommend Kris Cain, Little Tech Chick.
Thank you for this pertinent list, Brandi.
Hello Brandi. I’m new to the blogging community as of this year and was not aware of over half of the bloggers listed here so thank you for the list. I will say however that I’ve had fewer AA bloggers reach out to me via email or social media vs bloggers from other backgrounds. I’m not sure if that is due to sheer numbers or because the content I write is intended for women of all backgrounds. Connecting with bloggers or brands in general has not been difficult…finding my tribe has been and continues to be the challenge. Either way this is a great resource that will allow me to discover and support other AA bloggers. Much appreciated.
Carin Kilby Clark from mommyhoodmentor.com would be a great addition here. Thanks again.
May I suggest Eva at SocaMom.com?
I’d like to shed light on two other awesome AA bloggers. Yvonne Jane Lorraine from BlackCityGirl.com. She is a truly genuine person with amazing presence and reach online. She’s also known for reaching out to new AA bloggers like myself to support and help bring awareness to our presence online….I absolutely love this young lady. 🙂
Rosetta Thurman from the Happy Black Woman blog. (http://happyblackwoman.com/how-to-make-progress-on-your-goals-every-day/). I’ve not networked with Rosetta as of yet but her blog is an inspiration to thousands of AA women who want to live happier more productive lives.
And just a quick update to the recommendation mentioned earlier, Carin Kilby Clark’s main website is at http://clueconsultingllc.net/clueless-woman/.
Thanks again for the info and nice to connect with you lovely ladies.
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” ― Maya Angelou
Solo Mama – Thanks so much for mentioning me! 🙂 There are so many outstanding bloggers on this list – some I knew of and many I did not. Can’t wait to explore all these awesome sites. 😀
Absolutely..glad you joined us! 🙂
Your generosity is beyond measure Solo Mama! Thank you so much for your recommendation and thanks to everyone who has visited our blog as a consequence. It’s fantastic to interact with other women in this space, I can’t wait to visit the blogs on this list.
Thank you so much for including me in this. I am honored to be among so many amazing moms.
OMG! I read this like 3 times, I was just about to write a post about
this, well at least something similar,about Caribbean Bloggers here on
the internet, I am always searching and joining blogging groups,
sometimes I am the only black face and sometime the only caribbean
blogger in that group, a lot is not taken seriously when I post anything
to the group, sometimes my post are removed but yet a white face will
post almost the same thing, it stays there.
I blog mostly about
Caribbean Culture and our food and yes we are relevant.
So I was very
excited when blogher featured my recipe a few days ago.
I have just
started a network for Caribbean Bloggers, still in the works.
There is a
lot of us out there and there is more than enough to go around for
everyone.
Debra, some of us are in a Caribbean Blogger Network group on Facebook. I’d love to learn more about your network.
Thanks for sharing as a new AA mom blogger I wasn’t aware of many of these blogs. We need to start a community and build each other up.
Kudos for putting this list together! As an African American blogger, I love seeing sistas doing their thang. Many I have heard of some I have not. Bookmarking for sure!
Love this list and I’m excited to stay connected. I had no idea there was such a large and continually growing community of AA bloggers. After speaking with you at BlogHer, Brandi, I didn’t even realize how important and influential this role is! I’m half Black and half Filipino and have always struggled with “my place” and my role as a cultural influencer. I’m learning to embrace even more the differences, challenges and joys of being biracial and also raising multiracial children! Definitely excited to expand my own mentality and mindset to share my experiences and spread magic on my blog SparksofMagic.com ! I would love to join this community and see life through so many others’ eyes and celebrate the greatness that we have in common! We all have so many great stories to share and we are forces to be reckoned with! <3
It really is an honor to be on this list with so man bloggers I know, want to know and respect. While all bloggers have a lot in common, our cultural background do influence how we look at the world and how the world looks at us. You list of such a wide variety of loggers in so many different genres shows the world and potential adverstisers that black aka African American bloggers have a voice worth hearing and an audiences worth reaching.
Love your list. Thank you for showcasing the community of African-American Bloggers. Frankly speaking, I was unaware that there were so many of us – great job!
What an impressive list of brown bloggers! I’m working on building my blog up and hope to make this list one day!
Your passion to help others and promote others is priceless. You are the example so many should follow in paying it forward. Thank you for including me and my blog on your powerful list. You are such an inspiration!
I could never write a list and not include you! Thank you for YOUR support and for always looking out!
We’d love to be added to your list of Black Mom Bloggers. We are sisters who are bloggers, best friends and mothers who live in Miami & Manhattan!
http;//www.glammodmoms.com
Sounds like a great concept, Dafina! I’ll check you out!
Thank you for the opportunity to connect with other influencers. My blog is bright spot here on the Web full of love and light. Please stop and be encouraged. Illuminated Living at illuminatedlvg.com –A.M.
This is a great list! There are many names I recognize, but even more that I don’t. I’m definitely going to check everyone out. I had no idea there were so many mommy bloggers of color. I’d like to add Christine St. Vil of Moms ‘N Charge.
Might I suggest Lori from http://www.midatlanticfoodie.com? 😉
Awesome, Lori! I know that many PR reps are checking out this list and the comments, too, so you’re good! Going to dig into your site and check you out. Thanks for visiting!
Let me get my feedly on and add some of these wonderful blogs. I would love to be added
Kita Bryant Kokoa Magazine http://kokoamag.com
Thanks, Kita!
And since you mentioned this, Ina go head and add myself here too… 😉
BabyMakingMachine.com
Yes! One for all and all for one!
Just started blogging again but for a different passion would love to be added to the list http://www.amomoffait.wordpress.com aka http://www.FaithFueledMoms.con
I’m nominating myself! 😀
I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of these ladies online and off but see so many others I would like to know. I love that blogging gives us the opportunity to meet so many people from different backgrounds and different walks all life all over the world. Let’s embrace that diversity.
They are a really great group, Lisa! Thank you so much for your comment, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better, too!
I’m an AA mommy blogger who writes about Beauty, Style, Natural Hair and Lifestyle. My blog is: Naturally Stellar
I’m an AA mom newly blogging about becoming a natural mom – baby wearing, both diapering, breastfeeding, etc.
Im an AA mom blogger, writing about single mom parenting, family fun and lifestyle. My blog is http://www.NakishaWynn.com
Hey Brandi!
I sent you an email about a week or so ago, just wanted to make sure you got it!
Oh, and I wanted to add my blog to the list.. 😉
I am a single mom blogger and life coach. I write about lifestyle, relationship, inspiration, beauty, and fashion.
This is a great idea and an excellent list. I support your idea entirely!