Raising Black Children Who Live Intentionally: mater mea’s Rachel Rodgers Shares Her Wisdom

Today on MyBrownBaby, we celebrate mater mea mom Rachel Rodgers, a business lawyer for young entrepreneurs and mom of Riley, 2, and Jackson, 7 months. Photographed by Bee Walker for mater mea, Rachel shares the lessons she hopes to teach her sons when it comes to choosing careers and following their passions. 

mater mea: What perspective do you hope to impart to your children through your work?

Rachel Rodgers: I want them to do work that they love; that is something I’m super passionate about. I feel like I’m providing legal support to people who are doing that, and that’s why I do the work that I do. I want my kids to know that whatever lifestyle they want, they can build around it. They don’t have to do a 9-to-5 and be in a cubicle all day if they don’t want to. They can do work that matters to them—and if they can’t find a position they want, they can create it.

I want them to be pioneers of their own lives and to be living their lives intentionally. Not just I happen to be at this job, or I happen to be with this with this guy or happen to be with this woman. As if life were just happening to them and they were doing something because they were supposed to be doing it. No. I want them to spend time getting to know themselves, figuring out their talents, figuring out their personalities, and feeling confident and having strong self-esteem, and then to be making decisions. If they want to travel, then I want them to do that. I want them to have whatever lifestyle they want and to do work that they enjoy.

They don’t have to love every second of it—I don’t love every second of drafting contracts and handling cases. But overall my work is very, very rewarding and it’s worth it to me for those moments when I’m not enjoying it. I want them to have that.