Hey Chocolate Lovers! 🙂

It’s been a MAD hectic few weeks, but I’ve come up for air long enough to share a link to a great interview that Cute & Kinky founder, Kristen Muldrow, conducted with me about how we parents the kiddies. Thoughts and shares are appreciated, each one reach one and thanks again for the provocative chat Mrs. Muldrow!!!

……Cute & Kinky® is a brand that has always striven to drive home the importance of self-acceptance and in light of that, I decided to start a series wherein I interview parents about raising daughters in a time where historical, cultural and societal practices come with an interesting mix of stigmas, stereotypes and a scramble for appropriation.

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lorrie Irby Jackson for an informal Q&A session on her life as a mother of daughters. You may recognize her, as she is a writer for several publications and you’ve likely read several of her music reviews of top artists’ projects. She is also the founder of Mother of Color, a blog that aims to tackle issues that affect the Black community from a Black mother’s point of view. Her take on raising her daughters is a mix between traditional values and a revolutionary perspective that is sure to raise eyebrows, positively or negatively. Whatever your attitude on the issues addressed may be, Mrs. Jackson’s thoughts are sure to provoke your own examination.

C&K: How many daughters do you have and how old are they?

LIJ: Our girls are 7 yrs old and 4 yrs old, respectively.

C&K: Your blog is called Mother of Color. What does it mean to you to be a mother of color?

LIJ: I am connected to the global group of women and mothers, but because of the unique burdens that befall those who happen to be non-white, especially in America, my experiences compels me to prepare my children for what to expect in the future and I have to keep in mind those perpetuated racial issues, systemic inequities and other pressing dilemmas in mind on a daily basis as we raise those kids.

C&K: What is your general parenting style and how does that tie into what you hope to pass down to your daughters about Black womanhood?

LIJ: I consider myself authoritative, with more than a few old school touches on how children should be raised, see themselves and navigate within the community and the world. Encouraging free thought and assertiveness in my kids, for example, doesn’t mean that they have free rein to flout authority, get overly-familiar with adults and not have basic manners with each other and the community they live in. I guard their innocence as much as I possibly can, within reason, but I don’t let that youthfulness serve as an excuse to fall short or half-step, or fail to contribute to the household and treat others with respect. As far as their burgeoning womanhood, my husband and I planted their minds early with reassurances that they are both loved, are both equally beautiful (in different ways) and come from generations of powerful women who survived horrific circumstances, so there is very little that they’re not capable of. As young as they are, they’ve both been endowed with a sense of history, purpose and standards when it comes to how they live and conduct themselves. Few girls their age, for example, know about the tragic tale of the ‘Hottentot Venus,’ the advantages of their brown skin and that their physical differences from their peers doesn’t permit the ignorance and trespass of others. They have been encouraged to speak up for themselves and to not accept ill treatment from anyone, of any age group, of any color.

(click here read the full interview at lovedontlye.com)