Jamilah Lemieux’s ‘Black. Single. Mother.’ is a powerful call to see and support Black single mothers

In a candid conversation with TheGrio’s Natasha S. Alford, the writer and cultural critic reflects on motherhood, identity and the cultural narratives surrounding Black women raising children.

Jamilah Lemieux didn’t set out to write a manifesto, but reading the pages of “Black. Single. Mother.” may inspire you to go out and move differently in the world. In a candid conversation with TheGrio’s SVP & Chief Content Officer, Natasha S. Alford, Lemieux opens up about her new memoir, which is part personal reckoning, part cultural excavation.

Lemieux traces her story from growing up in Chicago to becoming a cultural critic and well-respected journalist. She’s raw and unfiltered about navigating motherhood on her own terms, pushing back against the stigmas that have long followed Black single mothers and asking why those narratives exist in the first place. She also connects the dots between patriarchy, culture, and the way society has historically failed to honor women who are holding everything together.

While the book is personal, there are also instructive lessons about co-parenting, dating with a child in the picture, and what it actually means to have (or not have) a village as a Black single mom. She revisits how she understood single motherhood as a kid growing up with her own single mother, and what writing this book changed about that understanding.

“Black. Single. Mother.” is out tomorrow, March 10th, in all stores where books are sold. Watch the full interview with Jamilah Lemieux in the video player above.