My Brown Baby: On the Joys and Challenges of Raising African American Children

For almost a decade, national parenting expert and bestselling author Denene Millner has published thought-provoking, insightful, sometimes wickedly funny commentary about motherhood on her critically acclaimed website MyBrownBaby.com. The site, hailed as a “must-read” by the New York Times, speaks to the experiences, joys, fears, sorrows, and triumphs of African American motherhood, from pregnancy and child-rearing to relationships and the politics of parenting black children.

After publishing almost 2,000 posts aimed at lifting the voices of moms and dads of color, Millner has now curated My Brown Baby, a collection of the website’s most important and insightful essays. This one-of-a-kind parenting book offers perspectives on the issues moms of color and mothers of children of color face as they raise their kids—from birthing while black to negotiating discipline to preparing children for racism.

Through her website, Millner has created a space for African American moms and parents of black children, many of whom long to lend their critical but all-too-often ignored voices to the national parenting discussion. Full of essays that readers of all backgrounds will find provocative, My Brown Baby acknowledges that there absolutely are issues that African American parents must deal with that white parents never have to confront if they’re not raising brown children. This book chronicles these differences with open arms, a lot of love, and the deep belief that though we may come from separate places and have different backgrounds, all parents want the same things for our families, and especially for our children.