My white privilege is once again brought to my attention. But I am a white mother so, for example: I had a higher chance of surviving childbirth, I did not have to think about moving out of London because I had a son and was worried for his future, I did not have to have a discussion about racism with my young child and make them aware that people might judge them simply because of the colour their skin. I am a mother too, so on one level could relate to some things she was saying. When we found out I was carrying a boy, I could see that, in becoming a mother to a son, I needed to take stock because, assuming I worked night and day to keep him out of the clutches of gangs, how long would I also be able to keep the overzealous police off his back as he grew up to be the very embodiment of who they’re taught to imprison? She talks about the lack of representation of black mothers in the media, the stereotype within both the black and white communities of black mothers and the concerns she has about raising her children. This is not a memoir, as she mentions a few times, but it is biographical and about her experience of being a black woman living in the UK.Įvery chapter covers a different theme and she adds in relevant statistics to show the racism problems in the UK. This book is written in her tone of voice, I could really imagine her telling me this story – her story of being a black British mother.
Opening sentence: The bedazzled characters which gyrated across the screen of my own mother’s TV were decorated in ensembles which mimicked the one I has spotted on the VHS cover of the salacious movie Dancehall Queen. So I guess I felt like I knew her a bit when I started reading I Am Not Your Baby Mother, but I defintiely did not know everything she has been through. I always look forward to her content as she is funny, chatty, honest, open, makes me envious of her amazing outfits and is never afraid to speak her mind. I follow Candice Brathwaite on Instagram – she has one of my favourite accounts.
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