These Black TV Moms Make Motherhood Look Easy

Motherhood is hard — it’s why we celebrate Mother’s Day every year. (And it falls on May 8th this year, so please consider this your official reminder to get your mom a gift.) For every moment of joy and love that women experience as moms, there is another one filled with worry, difficulty, and self-doubt. For at least 18 years, moms are responsible for providing resources and emotional support to another human being. It's a pretty big commitment.

Not even Hollywood, which can make anything look sparkly from the right angle, is willing to brush over that reality. In fact, the struggles of parenthood are usually at the forefront of how motherhood is portrayed on television. Moms worrying about the fate of their kids is the theme of about 70% of the lineup at Lifetime Movie Network, I’m sure. Black mothers, for their part, are often seen as conniving, overbearing, and/or constantly annoyed by their kids.

But there are some Black women on TV that make motherhood look like a walk in the park. In their own way, these fictional moms highlight why so many parents find their kids to be worth the hassle in the end.
They've given me hope; thanks to these Black women, I feel less of an urge to run in the other direction every time my mom asks me when I’ll be having kids of my own.