Modern Day Black Momma® Defined
Modern Day Black Momma® is more than a name — it is a God‑given identity and movement that emerged in 2006 from lived experience, spiritual revelation, and a deep desire to honor the journey of Black women. The term was created to give language to the strength, resilience, and spiritual authority carried by today’s Black mother. While it acknowledges where Black women come from, it also speaks to the women of today — across America and throughout the world — addressing our current realities, our state of mind, our spirituality, our families, our labor, our work, and the adversity we continue to overcome.In today’s society, the role of the Black mother has always been powerful and influential. When the term Modern Day Black Momma® first appeared in a 2006 poem, it helped bring visibility to the lived experiences, challenges, and triumphs of Black mothers in a way that resonated deeply. The work that followed opened space for conversations about race, motherhood, identity, and self‑acceptance. Over time, the phrase has grown into a movement that reflects the heart, history, and humanity of Black women everywhere. It stands as a reminder of the vital role Black mothers play in shaping families, communities, and culture across generations.
U.S. English Phonetic Pronunciation)
Noun Phrase.mɑdə˞n/ˈdeɪ /ˈblæk/ˈmɑmə
DEFINITION
1. Any indigenous African female chattel slave who was kidnapped, sold or given as a gift and forced into chattel slavery before or during the European colonization era.2. A free displaced African/Black female descendant (in the African Diaspora) of an indigenous African chattel slave, who was kidnapped, sold or given as a gift and forced into chattel slavery before or during the European colonization era. (e.g., Black women within the African Diaspora who have been displaced outside of the continent of Africa. Or, African American women displaced from their indigenous homeland of Africa and forced to live in different (geographical locations throughout the world and are no longer subjected or controlled through chattel slavery).3. A Black woman or a group of Black women in any part of the geographical world. 4. African Diaspora. African people who were involuntarily dispersed or spread throughout the world in the British Colonies of North America, New England and the Western United States of America from their original homeland of Africa.
Q&A
Q: Can women of other national races identify as a "Modern Day Black Momma®?"
A: No and yes, in some instances. Here's a three part answer:
1) No, based on origin of Black oppression. If the woman (who is not African/Black) has not lived and identified publicly the entirety of her life as a Black woman and has not suffered as a Black woman, then no, because the origin of a "Modern Day Black Momma®" has a life history of racial Black oppression due to other national races who identify themselves as superior beings to the Black race. Furthermore, if the (non-Black) woman, of a different national race doesn't suffer from the burden of and tyranny of oppression in her day-to-day life as a Black woman, then she has no right to identify as a Black woman. She is not a "Modern Day Black Momma®".
2) Yes, culturally many women from other racial backgrounds, who are not African/Black can identify as a "Modern Day Black Momma®" because they live in similar geographic locations throughout the world as Africans/Blacks and share the same religious beliefs, cook and eat the same foods; they emulate Black hairstyles, Black fashion and the Black speech dialect, or they "talk Black", like Black people and unapologetically embrace the authentic experiences of Black culture and in some instances, allude to the desire to be a Black woman.
Moreover, they also date and/or marry Black men, birth mixed race children giving the child a direct birth right to Black lineage. Subsequently, these women also have mixed race Black grandchildren, nieces and nephews. This type of intertwining of mixed races gives direct insight to the mother, grandmother or aunt (who is non-Black) must now learn to suffer with, care for, love and protect her Black child who will always be a national target of racial discrimination geographically and under political control in colonized areas of the world.
Despite the fact many women from different racial backgrounds (usually Caucasian, Mexican, and Asian women) blend in with the Black culture, the pure reality is - they do not suffer geographically, physically, phychologically or emotionally as African/Black women. But, distinctly, they can potentially identify as a "Modern Day Black Momma®" culturally as long as the women intergrate within the Black culture with benevolence and are not exploiting the humanity of Black culture with infirmities.
3) By lineage, no. All women are from African lineage but do not identify racially as a Black woman because centuries ago, the world was divided into categories of national races, ethnicities and nationalities, subsequently, many women geographically, have not lived or suffered as Black women, therefore would not be a "Modern Day Black Momma®" based on the lineage of their African ancestors.
This definition was written to preserve the truth, protect the language, and ensure that the identity of the Modern Day Black Momma® remains rooted in authenticity. As the original creator of this term, it is my responsibility to document our history accurately and to speak to the lived experiences of Black women across the world today. May this definition serve as a guide, a reference, and a cultural anchor for generations to come.
In my final words, a woman can claim whatever ethnicity or race she chooses, unashamed, but realistically, every woman is who she has lived to become without regard to the color of her skin.
~ Felice Bois © MDBM Records