How Two Moms Created the Support System They — & Other Black Women — So Needed

Eugenia Richman
·2 min read

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blogger-parenting-tentpole

When ‘Mixed-ish’ star Tika Sumpter was pregnant with her daughter Ella three years ago, she combed the Internet for resources for moms and to find other people who were experiencing what she was feeling. “But I didn’t see faces that looked like me,” she explained at BlogHer’s Parenting conference last Friday. When she Googled Black moms, it was doom and gloom. And then when she searched for motherhood, Sumpter found faces that didn’t look like her. “I know there’s a spectrum, you know, and we’re not just this one thing,” she said.

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And so she connected with media exec Thai Randolph to discuss her idea. While Randolph was at first skeptical of the concept — creating a site and brand for Black moms — she was soon captivated by it. Sugaberry, a lifestyle brand created by and for moms of color, is meant to share the range of experiences Black women have. “We also should be included in indulgence and not just like surviving motherhood but thriving in it,” said Sumpter.

After suffering from pre-clampsia and being close to a stroke or seizure, Sumpter said, she didn’t have the moment she was expecting postpartum when she held her daughter for the first time. “I didn’t know what to feel. And I thought I was supposed to catch up and feel this magical moment, and I didn’t.”

This is one of many personal and difficult conversations Sumpter and Randolph discuss in their podcast The Suga. Randolph also hasn’t shied away from discussing the good and challenging issues women face in motherhood, opening up about her struggle with IVF, having a C-section and more.

Before you go, check out the most inspiring quotes from our BlogHer Creators Summit!

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