An Autoethnography of African American Motherhood

This is the first full-length explicitly identified autoethnographic text on African American motherhood. It shows the lived experiences of Black motherhood, when mothering is shaped by race, gender, and class, and mothers must navigate not only their own, but also their children''s positions in society.

Ferdinand takes an intimate look at her mothering strategies spanning ten years (from 2007 to 2017), preparing her daughter to traverse a racist and sexist society. It is a multi-generational text that blends the author¿s experience with that of her own mother, grandmother, and her daughter, to engage in a larger discussion of African American/Black mother/womanhood. It is grounded within Black Feminist Theory, which centers the experiences of Black women within the domains of intersecting oppressions. It is from a very personal position that Ferdinand provides a glimpse into the minutiae of mothering that reveal the everyday intricacies of Black women as mothers. It h