She Ain't One of Your Lil' Friends

Hey y’all! Welcome back to another week of looking at the representation of black women in television and film. This week is about the representation of black mothers.

Stereotypes Associated with Black Mothers

The main stereotype associated with black mothers goes back to my blog on strong black women. Other stereotypes include being poor, a single-mom, and being strict.

Everybody Hates Chris

Everybody Hates Chris is a sitcom based loosely on the life of comedian Chris Rock.

Rochelle is the mother of Chris and his two other siblings. Her husband works two jobs, so for the majority of the show she quits her jobs and says, “I don’t need this, my man has two jobs.”

She’s comedic, strict, and loud. Rochelle is known for saying things like “I’ll slap you into next week,” to her kids. Some think that’s funny, but it depicts black mothers as aggressive.

What I love about Rochelle is that she doesn’t want her kids to fit into stereotypes. Another iconic catchphrase of her’s is “I ain't raising no babies,” so her kids wouldn’t become teen parents.

Rochelle never allowed her kids to wear raggedy clothes because she didn’t want people to think they were poor. She was also strict with school because she didn’t want people to think her kids were dumb.

Sister, Sister

Sister, Sister is a sitcom based on an adopted set of twins finding each other at the mall.

Lisa is the mother of Tia and a mother-figure to her twin sister Tamera. She’s the “fun” parent and Tia is the “boring” twin. She’s a fashion designer and comedic relief of the show.

Lisa was forced to drop out of design school when she couldn’t pay her tuition. When she adopted Tia, saving money for her to go to college was a priority. She wanted Tia to take any educational opportunity the world had to offer.

As a parent, Lisa worked to have an open relationship with the twins so they could talk to her about anything. She always reminded them she was once young and that she’d been where they are.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a sitcom about a teen from Philly living with his family in Bel Air.

There was no way I could talk about black mothers without talking about the original Aunt Viv.

She wasn’t the typical sitcom mom that’s just a housewife with a clueless husband and kids who don’t respect her. Aunt Viv was the matriarch. As black mother on a television series in the 1990s, Aunt Viv was nothing anyone could expect.

She was a professor, wife, mother, aunt, dancer, activist, fashionista, like a superwoman. Aunt Viv was a college professor married to a high ranking judge and living in a Bel-Air mansion. She was quick witted, ambitious, fearless, and loving.

As a mother, she always pushed her kids to strive for their best. She encouraged their individuality and always taught them to stand up for what they believe in.

A common theme for the mothers in these shows was them wanting more for their black children. Black women grow up and see how the world treats black people and do their best to prepare and protect their children from it.

Watching these shows gives people an opportunity to see what goes into raising a black child. No matter the educational or financial background, all black mothers want the best for their kids.

That’s a wrap for this week. Come back next Monday morning at 11 for "Who's The Fairest of Them All?" all about colorism.