It was a whirlwind week for the nation as all eyes trained on the case of Trayvon Martin, the teenager gunned down by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman for, what seems, no other reason than that he was an African American boy walking on the sidewalk in a gated community. MyBrownbaby’s own Nick Chiles has been covering the story for almost three weeks, writing about Zimmerman’s shady past, the Sanford, Fl., police department’s botching of the investigation, the calls for Police Chief Bill Lee’s resignation and the #Justice4Trayvon protests spread from North to South. Most interesting is the mainstream media’s coverage of the fears black parents face when they have sons. It’s as if this is some kind of huge revelation to them, when, all along, it’s been on the minds of black moms and dads since, it seems, the beginning of time.
And that illustrates the vast gulf between the national parenting discussion and the discussions that take place between black moms. Because while the fear that tugs at the hearts of black moms is real and palpable, it seems never to be acknowledged in mainstream media. But we do it here, at MyBrownBaby. All day. Every day.
Today, I want to share with you the myriad of posts we wrote and published here at MyBrownBaby over the three years of our existence—long before mainstream media trained its lens on Trayvon Martin. If you’re new here, enjoy them. If you’ve read these posts before, enjoy them again. And this weekend, hug your babies tight and remember that Trayvon Martin is us and we are him. #Justice4Trayvon.
Black Boy Swagger, Black Mom Fear, by Denene Millner
Joy and Fear: When A Black Mom Finds Out She’s Having A Boy, by Nadirah Angail
Wordful Wednesday: A Beautiful Black Boy, by Denene Millner
Teenager Killed in Florida by Neighborhood Watch Brings Terror To My Heart, by Nick Chiles
Denene Millner
Mom. NY Times bestselling author. Pop culture ninja. Unapologetic lover of shoes, bacon and babies. Nice with the verbs. Founder of the top black parenting website, MyBrownBaby.
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Indeed, D!!
I have so many Trayvon Martins in my family! This situation is no different from the rampant lynchings and beatings that went on in the not-so-distant past. We must continue to speak up, and stop waiting for people to “understand where we’re coming from.”
#Justice4Trayvon
Thank you!! I’m in the midst of this very argument with a former co-worker. He will probably never understand there are certain things I have to teach my sons that he has never considered.
Not probably Diana, he’ll NEVER understand. Please make sure to reiterate that point loud and clearly for me.
I had to visit this site to believe it. I cannot believe there is actually a website called mybrownbaby.com. It’s almost as bad as the blackpeoplemeet.com website. I am mixed and will never understand people’s need to segragate themselves then get offended when they’re segregated, especially after years of trying to remove segregation from society. Does no one see the contradiction and hypocracy here? What you are saying is, please don’t treat me differently, as I am the same as you…but I am different from you so we need something that is only for us. lol. White people had something similar, it’s called the KKK. Way to take a step backwards.
Ugh. Mike? Really? I can’t be bothered explaining this to you and clearly, you came here with the clear intention to ridicule rather than understand or even spend more than two seconds to see what this site is actually about. If the mere mentioning of the color of my children’s skin drives you that far over the edge, really, I can’t help you understand. Don’t want to. But I will link to a post that’ll help others who see your comment understand if there is any confusion.
http://mybrownbaby.com/2009/03/mybrownbaby-where-no-question-is/
Happy reading and nice life.
Equating the KKK with an informational site on the internet aimed at a demographic? So Mike would you prefer the demographic be ignored? Why do you not rant against Jdate or the Knights of Columbus? Why aren’t you commenting these racist rants on the Irish Network? An asian site?
Why do you hold African Americans by a different standard then all other US citizens?
You actually have the perception problem Mike. And actually are the problem. Ask yourself. Are any Italian Americans rethinking being a member in the Knights of Columbus because it is racist? Are they automatically racist because they belong? And you feel smart enough to comment. That is the internet’s problem
Keep up the good work MyBrownBaby.