Baby Mama: The Black Madonna, 2025

On May 22, 1962, Malcolm X said, “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” And you can x10 that sentiment for Black women who are also single and mothers.

In developing the idea for Baby Mama: The Black Madonna, memories of my own experiences of single motherhood came flooding in. One in particular came less than a year after parting ways with my son's father. I was in a new relationship and a minor conflict arose between the two men. I addressed my new partner and listened to my son's father's perspective as well. In what I thought was a safe space, I detailed what happened to a woman I thought of as a sister at the time. She heard the actions of my new boyfriend and paused...before telling me I was "acting like a baby mama." 

What the fuck did that even mean? Acting like a "baby mama"? Nevermind the fact that I literally took no action in the incident at all, or that no one is responsible for the actions of another, or that being a "mama" is one of the highest honors in society. No, all that be damned. Her disgust with single motherhood, and essentially me, came flying out of her mouth the first chance it got. That was the first time the term "baby mama" was hurled at me with the intent to offend...and the end of that friendship.

I wish I could say her mindset was just an isolated incident, but unfortunately it's not. In the almost 10 years that I have had the honor of being a mother, a mama, a mom, a ma; Brother Malcolm's words have rung true as hell. Repeatedly. Just a quick scroll through the timeline and I'm reminded of just how much my position is undervalued, detested even. The vitriol is hard not to notice, and even harder to stomach. Any why? Because I stepped into the role of mother and maintained it beyond and in spite of a failed relationship.

So why name my piece Baby Mama? Idk. Reclamation? Provocation? A two worded "fuck all you mothafuckas" for anyone who shares my ex-friend's sentiments? Yeh, sure. But mostly because I really need this message to hit. As with all my yarn paintings, the purpose is to challenge the viewer to reconsider their pre-conceived notions of what it means to be whatever the subject represents. In this case, a mother; specifically a Black single mother. I wanted that term attached to this piece because the perceived contrast between the soft and warm nature of the yarn and a "baby mama" is...striking.

Here's where the piece is at the time of me writing this: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8DGVS2H/