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

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"The best site for thoughtful, fierce advice about parenting from a Black perspective" -Ebony
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.

Reviews

Praise for Denene Millner, her blog, and My Brown Baby:

[Millner] here delivers the finest selections from her award-winning blog MyBrownBaby.com, which soulfully and hilariously depicts the delights and sorrows of child rearing from a black perspective. While few blogs on this topic make it to publication, Millners deserves every prize earned. Her writing is acutely on target. Holding nothing back, and speaking through raw truth, she gives a keen yet grounded take on parenting from the black viewpoint, both educating and validating readers along the way. . . . Millner is on top of every political, media, and cultural front, making her one of the most relevant and aspiring writers on the issue of black parenting. Library Journal, starred review

Many of [the essays] are humorous, some are profound, and more than a few are thought-provokingly political. . . . Millner is a natural, conversational writer, and these bite-size essays deserve a wide readership. Booklist

[A] must-read . . . more destination than blog. New York Times

The best site for thoughtful, fierce advice about parenting from a Black perspective. Ebony

For brown moms looking for a space to write and talk about pregnancy, parenting, healthy eating and pop-culture portrayals of parenting, this blog is their utopia. The Root

Insightful and powerful. . . . A must-read for mothers raising children of colorand for parents everywhere. The Parenting Patch

While the shelves are full to bursting with pregnancy and childrearing books, Millner tackles the subject from a different angle, one thats perhaps more rare and that speaks directly to parents without a lot of fuss. Millner uses humor, but its clear when shes being serious; shes also common-sense and offers a nice mix of old-school, modern ideas, and new viewpoints on things your Mama never had to consider. Terri Schlichenmeyer, The Bookworm Sez

I'm flagging page after page in this must-read. White Sugar, Brown Sugar

There are so many good nuggets of information and great essays found in the pages of My Brown Baby. . . . While this book is geared towards African-Americans raising Black and Brown children, it can be read and enjoyed by people of all races. Here Wee Read

Required reading for parents of all shadesand it will help them understand the perspectives of their fellow parents. Flagpole.com

An eye opening read . . . . A must read for anyone that has a child `different than themselves. Kellys Thoughts On Things

There is no one size fits all manual, but Denene Millner is knocking down the fourth wall of Black Parenting in her newest book. . . . This is the parenting book we all need, and it is carving out a new lane in the Parenting Genre. DBABETTA

What youve come to expect since 2008 from the My Brown Baby sitethat purposeful, gleeful recognition of parenting while blackyoull get in the essays in this book. Arnebya

Revealing her own trials and triumphs, Denene fosters a community of [parents] dedicated to making the next generation as powerful as it can be. For Harriet

Author Bio

Denene Millner is a contributing editor at Agate Publishing where she directs the Denene Millner Books imprint. She is the founder and editor of MyBrownBaby.com, a blog focused on parenting and race. Millner authored or coauthored 25 books, including four New York Times bestsellers.