Dem Black Mamas Podcast

Dem Black Mamas
Dem Black Mamas Podcast

Dem Black Mamas answers all the questions yo mama won't! From sex & dream chasing to adulting & raising free Black children, Crystal Tennille Irby, NeKisha Killings, & Thea Monyee, three #BlackMamaCreatives give you all the #BlackMamaMagic your heart can hold. This is for Black girls/women who need an auntie. This is for Black Mamas who believe healing is a form of generation wealth. This is for Black girls/women who believe creativity is tool for liberation. This is for Black mamas who believe motherhood is not the graveyard of dreams.

  1. DBM Ep 66: The 92%, Boundaries & Black Motherhood

    1D AGO

    DBM Ep 66: The 92%, Boundaries & Black Motherhood

    Dear Mama, How do we resist the urge to rescue when we’ve been taught our whole lives to be saviors?  How do we set boundaries when the world is burning? What do we do when we’ve been deemed the backbone of the community, but our backbones are brittle and breaking? Since the election, these are the questions and conversations black women have been having online and, especially, in group chats.  So, we decided to explore what this line in the sand means for Black mothers in the midst of state-sanctioned brutality.   In this episode, Thea and I explore the parallels between domestic violence relationships and Black mothers' relationship with America.   We dive into: ✨Why it’s more important than ever that Black mothers set boundaries  ✨The role cultural coping plays in Black mothers ignoring their needs ✨Vulnerability & why Black mothers feel we must do it all ✨What Stevie Wonder songs reflect this moment PLUS - Thea shares a testimony about getting a new mattress, and I’m excited to share the details of our next virtual event, Down By the Riverside, during our Church Announcements, Praise Reports, and Prayer List Requests segment.  In our Black Mama Say segment for this episode, where we put our own twist on sayings from Black mamas, we do something a little different this time.  Instead of a Black Mama Say, we’re choosing theme songs to carry us through this moment. IMPORTANT CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS: Black Maternal Health 2025 kicks off on April 11th REGISTER NOW for Down By the Riverside Sunday, April 13th, noonPT/3pm ET. Space is limited. To expand knowledge and combat misinformation and disinformation, we create a syllabus for each episode (s/o to Melissa Harris-Perry), a list of references/sources for our listeners to dive into.  This list includes any books, videos, podcasts, etc., that we've mentioned in the episode or that will help you gain a well-informed perspective. For our full syllabus, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com 💗Black Mama Magic Card Deck: Card #21 “My Motherhood Is Rooted In Liberation” 💗 Episode Playlist: The 92%, Boundaries & Black Motherhood Companion Playlist EPISODES MENTIONED/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Ep 61 Grief and Black Motherhood 🎙️DBM Ep 54: Birth Justice, Liberation & the Power of Black Midwives w/ Jamarah Amani & K.Sanderson ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas: BluSky | Instagram | Patreon | YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Please share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us, or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For all links, complete show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 29m
  2. DBM Ep 65: Marriage, Hot Topics & Black Motherhood

    MAR 20

    DBM Ep 65: Marriage, Hot Topics & Black Motherhood

    Dear Mama, What do Telvin Osborne, Black marriage, generational wealth, Altadena, data as currency, the TV show Paradise, and white women in Idaho have in common?  We cover them all in this episode.  Yup, it’s hot topics, and we got hot takes well, not hot takes.  We got Black Mama takes on all the above.  In this episode, we talk: ✨How Telvin Osborne is relevant to Black women resting ✨The real problem when it comes to  marriage & Black folx ✨Why Paradise gets kudos & white women in Idaho don’t PLUS - we talk all things Black Maternal Health,  Roberta Flack, Thea taking on individual clients, and I share a big praise report regarding my nonprofit Creators Well during our Church announcements, praise reports, and prayer list requests segment.  In our Black Mama Say segment for this episode, where we put our twist on sayings from Black mamas and the saying we're twisting this episode is “Let me put it to you like this.” 💗Black Mama Magic Deck Card: Card #25 “Motherhood Is Not the Graveyard of Dreams” 💗 Donate to Creators Well.  Founded by Crystal Tennille Irby, Creators Well is a series of FREE interactive writing retreats and writing and performance classes for Black girls/ femmes/ non-binary/gender-expansive youth ages 12-21 that teaches and affirms the power of their voices, pen, art, and individuality. Thea Monyee, aka the Secretary of Joy, has nine spots available for one-on-one joy exploration and three spots for couples.  Contact Thea for more details.  EPISODES MENTIONED/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Ep 61 Joy and Black Motherhood 🎙️DBM Ep 54: Birth Justice, Liberation & the Power of Black Midwives w/ Jamarah Amani & K.Sanderson ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas: BluSky | Instagram | Patreon | YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us, or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. AND share this episode with at least one person.  Sharing is not only caring; sharing builds community. For all links, full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 20m
  3. DBM Ep 64: LA Fires & Black Motherhood w/ Staci Mitchell

    MAR 4

    DBM Ep 64: LA Fires & Black Motherhood w/ Staci Mitchell

    Dear Mama, What does it mean to make it home, to create a place of rest and reprieve, joy and sanctuary, an archive of your children’s treasures?  What happens when you can’t make it home, return to your place of rest and reprieve, joy and sanctuary, a reflection of your taste and intention? What happens when the archive of your children’s treasure, what they left behind to be kept safe, is incinerated, covered in ash and your community physically fractured?  In this episode, Staci Mitchell, a mother of 3 who was born and raised in Altadena, CA, and our very own Thea Monyee recount the night the Los Angeles fires ravaged their community, watching their city burn, and the creative rebirth they’ve experienced in the wake of this nightmare.   In this episode, we talk: ✨Mothering through displacement ✨Gentrification and anti-blackness amid natural disaster ✨The expectation of normalcy while healing from trauma  precious commodities  PLUS: We meet Thea’s new dog, Remy, have a church meeting during our Church announcements segment about boycotting and  Black women minding their Black business, and in our Black Mama Say segment, each of us shares the word that will guide us through the year. 💗Black Mama Magic Card Deck: Card #16 “Impossible You” 💗 ABOUT STACI MITCHELL:  The Fierce Creative With Healing Tendencies; Pan-African Studies Scholar, Theatre & Performance Artist born in LA and raised in Altadena, California. Her epistemological and pedagogical focus balances on womanism and the complex of Black\woman identity and its performativity. Staci has performed on and written for the Los Angeles theatre stage, been featured in independent film, on television, voiceover and audiobook narration. Staci is also a certified Ayurvedic yoga teacher specializing in meditation. She approaches all of these practices with deep appreciation and acknowledgment of her Afrikan ancestors who helped shape the science. Help Staci Rebuild  EPISODES MENTIONED/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Episode 42: Honoring Your Body, Creativity, and Embracing Motherhood on Your Own Terms featuring Staci Mitchell ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas: Email List | BluSky | Instagram | Patreon | YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For all links, full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 50m
  4. DBM Ep 63: Entrepreneurship & Black Motherhood

    FEB 16

    DBM Ep 63: Entrepreneurship & Black Motherhood

    Dear Mama, What if I told you I didn’t start a business because I wanted to be a boss? I started my business because I wanted to be free, because I saw no other path to fully realizing my dreams, and according to a 2022 article, I’m not alone in finding entrepreneurship on my liberation journey.  In the article entitled Why Black Women Are the Fastest-Growing Group of Entrepreneurs, Erica Thompson writes, “As the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs, Black women say they are seeking more freedom, opportunity, fulfillment and stability. They also are escaping from discrimination and other barriers in the workplace.” In this episode, we have a raw and vulnerable conversation about Black motherhood and our entrepreneurship journeys.  Through this honest discussion, we aim to illuminate the real experiences behind the facade of 'glamorous' entrepreneurship and provide insights for others on a similar path. In this episode, we talk: ✨The spiritual and sometimes lonely journey of entrepreneurship ✨The pressure we put on our dreams to provide ✨Building a business in the margins as a mom when time, mental wellness, and money are precious commodities  PLUS - We ponder what white people were doing in the 90s. 💗Black Mama Magic Card Deck Pull: Card #8 “Share Your Inspiration” 💗 Donate to Creators Well.  Founded by Crystal Tennille Irby, Creators Well is a series of FREE interactive writing retreats and writing and performance classes for Black girls/ femmes/ non-binary/gender-expansive youth ages 12-21 that teaches and affirms the power of their voices, pen, art, and individuality. Episode Playlist: Black Healing Playlist curated by Dem Black Mamas on Spotify EPISODES MENTIONED/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️ DBM Ep 61: Black Motherhood & Joy 🎙️DBM Ep 15: Black Mama Creative   🎙️Shaping the Shift: We Are Eternal with Renee Marie  ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas: BluSky | Instagram | Patreon | YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For all links, full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 29m

  5. JAN 20

    DBM Ep 62: Grief & Black Motherhood with Akilah Richards

    Dear Mama, What if I told you to offer grief a seat at the table?  What if I told you grief has no other duties except to be with you?  It has nowhere to be and is not bound by time.  Grief is patient.  Grief is relentless, and as Akilah S. Richards, our guest for this episode and a DBM fave, says, “Grief is not something to be fixed but something for you to learn to be more skilled at processing.” Akilah is a mother, partner, liberationist and author of Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing.   She is now diving deep into grief work and in this episode we talk: ✨Grief, language and the body ✨Grief and generational shifts ✨Grief and creative projects ✨And of course grief, Black women and the political landscape Plus Thea uses a Negro spiritual to describe Black women’s current mindset and Crystal is learning sign language and attempts to teach Thea.  💗Black Mama Magic Card: Card #25 - Motherhood is not the graveyard of dreams💗 EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Ep 61: Black Motherhood & Joy 🎙️Shaping The Shift:  The Wild Body With Jessica Schafer ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ ABOUT Akilah Richards: Akilah S. Richards is a mother, partner and liberationist. As founder of Raising Free People Network and author of Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work, Akilah S. Richards partners with co-conspirators to challenge and encourage social justice-minded people to explore privilege and power in their relationships with personal leadership and all relationships. These days find Akilah tapped into the wisdom she gathered from her family’s transition from schoolishness to confident autonomy. She is savoring her life’s lessons after nearly a decade of location independence, and eight years of being invited into various conversations about intergenerational community care across the U.S., Southern Africa, and Jamaica (where Akilah is from). She guides discussions about how unschooling skills and other forms of decoloniality are shaping families and other cultures of leadership, change-work, and love. In addition to private coaching and public speaking, she facilitates trainings, small-group experiences, and consultations that help resolve the ways that unexamined experiences with bias and oppression disrupt families’ and organization’s capacity to sustain cultures of belonging. Connect with Akilah: Grief Circle | Community & Support | Instagram Connect with Dem Black Mamas: YouTube | Email List | Patreon | Blusky 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 46m

  6. 12/06/2024

    DBM Ep 61: Black Motherhood & Joy

    Dear Mama, What if I told you I didn’t think I had the words for the intro of this episode because we recorded it before the election, and after November 5th, joy was THE LAST THING I wanted to talk about?  I wish I could say thinking of our ancestors pulled me through, but the truth is reaching forward in time helped me more than reaching back, and now more than ever, we are going to need joy not to feel happy but because, as Thea Monyee, one of the cohost of this podcast, who will be guiding us through the Joy Assessment, says "Joy makes things clear," and we, particularly Black mothers, need to get REAL CLEAR RIGHT NOW and being committed to joy, being centered on joy requires us to tell the truth to ourselves, about our relationships, about what is real and what is not, what is serving us and most importantly how we are not serving ourselves and that allows us to get really, really clear about what we are supposed to be doing, how to mind our business and what business we should be minding, and focused on in the time that we are about to enter. In this episode we delve into the social-political barriers of joy and how accountability intersects with the pursuit of personal joy. Thea Monyee introduces the groundbreaking "Joy Assessment," created with the Blacker The Brain cohort, as a tool for Black folx to reclaim joy as a means for liberation. In this episode, we talk: ✨The groundbreaking Joy Assessment ✨The difference between joy and happiness ✨Radical honesty and spiritual bypassing ✨Joy as tool of parenting from a place of liberation and not fear 💗Black Mama Magic Card: Card #10 - Lay Your Burdens on the Altar of Love💗 Episode Playlist: Blackest Holiday Playlist Eva curated by us on Spotify EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Ep 59: Black Motherhood, Myths & Matrescence w/ Stepha LaFond ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT - Pre-Show Shenanigans✨ ABOUT THE BLACKER THE BRAIN: Thea Monyee aka the Secretary of Joy and the founder of The Blacker the Brain which is an ongoing campaign, conversation and cohort created to make mental health inclusive and expansive for Black bodies by teaching practitioners to unlearn harmful ideas, practices, and policies, and empowering potential clients with language, a full understanding of their rights, and a joy centered framework for their healing within in an oppressive society.  Connect with The Blacker The Brain: Instagram | Website Take the Joy Assessment 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas Instagram Patreon YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Speak back to us!  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 38m

  7. 11/01/2024

    DBM Ep 60: All Cried Out, Election 2024 & Morris Chestnut

    Dear Mama, There’s no deep intro for this episode.  In this episode, we talk: ✨Which version of "All Cried Out" is best, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam or Allure & 112 ✨Election 2024 ✨How God blessed us with Morris Chesnut's rise from Ricky to Cory Cash WE HAVE RANGE! The way we move from levity to depth, Thea breaking down Joe Biden's scorpio tendencies to NeKisha connecting COVID to Zoom organizing to Crystal invoking Stokely Carimicheal’s definition of a revolutionary, is DEFINITELY a reflection of the times we are living in. And the truth is we were with more questions than answers: 👉🏾What does it mean to burn it all down, and who will be the ashes?  👉🏾What does it mean to be an activist?  👉🏾No matter the election outcome, what are we committed to building? What we know for sure, though, is MORRIS CHESNUT continues to bless us, and we are GRATEFUL! & OF COURSE we got that #BlackMamaMagic #ElectionPlaylist 💗Black Mama Magic Card for this episode: Card #48 - Time Is Always Divine💗 EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Ep 1: Meet The Mamas 🎙️DBM Ep 2: Michelle 4C LaVaughn Chocolate Robinson 🎙️ DBM Ep 18: Deez Black Votes 🎙️DBM Ep 36: Election Shift - DBM + Shaping The Shift Mashup 🎙️DBM Ep 52: Black Women Organizing Hoes That Ain't Loyal Spiritual Political Cycles ✨MERCH OF THE MONTH - Black Mama Magic Card Deck ✨ If you really wanna watch us on our Blackest behavior, get on The Mothership & come inside the Black Mama Magic Room aka our YouTube Channel. 🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas Instagram YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 25m

  8. 08/16/2024

    DBM Ep 59: Black Motherhood, Myths & Matrescence w/ Stepha LaFond

    Dear Mama, What if I told you there’s no such thing as snapping back after giving birth, only expanding into?  What if I asked you to imagine Black motherhood without suffering?  Could you do it?  Have we made suffering a rite of passage in Black motherhood? Have we shrouded Black motherhood in self-sacrifice as opposed to sacred sacrifice?  These are the questions we explore in this episode about matrescence.  Coined by reproductive psychologist Dana Raphael, matrescence is the process of becoming a mother, including the physical, psychological, and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period.  Lissen yall, this episode drove us Thea to drink!  So we’re glad to have one of our favs Stepha Lafond of Unlearning Motherhood, ridin’ shotgun with us who provides context to all the things we know and feel about transitioning to and in motherhood but didn’t have the language for. ✨Much like adolescence, matrescence involves ongoing shifts that shape our identity and understanding of ourselves. ✨How self-forgiveness sets the tone for your motherhood journey ✨Why setting the strong Black women free is essential for us and our children ✨Normalizing not doing motherhood alone 💗Black Mama Magic Card for this episode: Card # 39 - My Children Are My Teachers💗 EPISODES MENTIONS/RELEVANT TO THIS EPISODE: 🎙️DBM Episode 51: When It All Falls Down, Finding Freedom & Transitioning to Conscious Parenting w/ Domari Dickinson 🎙️DBM Episode 33: Haitian American Mama w/ Stepha LaFond 🎙️Meditations By Mamas: Full Moon/Shedding Meditation featuring Stepha LaFond ✨MERCH OF THE MONTH - Black Mama Magic Card Deck ✨ ✨PATREON BONUS CONTENT  - Grounding lead by Thea: “If I surrender to the air I can ride it” - Toni Morrison✨ ABOUT OUR GUEST: Stepha is a Life Coach, Mentor, and Speaker, dedicated to helping moms navigate the space between who they were and who they’re still becoming. As a mom of two young children, she knows firsthand the struggles of juggling the demands of motherhood, career, and life. She started her practice out of a desire to put moms at the center of the conversation, with an emphasis on shifting the narrative on modern motherhood to one that allows space for mamas to grow, heal and take care of themselves at all stages of their journey. Her work on Matrescence- the transition into motherhood- invites her clients and spectators to explore and hold space for this common but rarely discussed phase of development, whilst taking a critical look at the unjust systems and power structures impacting motherhood and creating necessary shifts towards liberation. Connect with Stepha LaFond & Unlearning Motherhood: Instagram  🔗 Connect with Dem Black Mamas Instagram YouTube 🗣️Engage: This is a conversation.  Share your thoughts about the episode using the hashtag #DemBlackMamas, DM us or email us at magic@demblackmamas.com. For full show notes & transcript, check out our website:  demblackmamas.com

    1h 16m
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    About

    Dem Black Mamas answers all the questions yo mama won't! From sex & dream chasing to adulting & raising free Black children, Crystal Tennille Irby, NeKisha Killings, & Thea Monyee, three #BlackMamaCreatives give you all the #BlackMamaMagic your heart can hold. This is for Black girls/women who need an auntie. This is for Black Mamas who believe healing is a form of generation wealth. This is for Black girls/women who believe creativity is tool for liberation. This is for Black mamas who believe motherhood is not the graveyard of dreams.

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