CONVERSATIONS With MATRIARCHS What Mamma Never Told Me
With Taneya Rogers
I
n many Black households children are kept sheltered from indepth conversations around marriage, sex and relationships. We tend to experience the relationships of our parents as ‘outsiders’ looking in, absent of any context as to how the dynamics of those relationships came to be, the process of building an even semi-functional home and without direct conversations that may offer learnings. Our exposure to these conversations relies heavily on our parents’ appetite for openness and our cultural and religious backgrounds. Particularly among younger women in new relationships and with growing families, we’ve heard the phrase “I wish my mother told me ‘this’”. The Brew and Bloom Cafe provided the perfect backdrop for our conversation with four beautiful ebony matriarchs. With delicate flowers cascading overhead, and delectable deserts on hand, these powerhouses took time to reflect on their younger selves and speak on matters of love, relationships, personal evolutions and
“Particularly among younger women in new relationships and with growing families, we’ve heard the phrase “I wish my mother told me ‘this’”. 16 MELANISTIC
Images Courtesy of: NiLo
