Jennifer James pored through parenting magazines. She explored Web sites. But every search turned up empty. "I found some great information, but nothing that really spoke to me as a black mom," she said.

When James did find something about black mothers, it was often negative.

"It was always doom and gloom," James said. "Things like we lose weight slower than white women or we have some other problem. Nothing resonated with me. I said, 'If I can't find it, I'll start it myself.' "

In 2003, in her Chapel Hill home, she used her laptop to create an online magazine for mothers of color.

"I called it Mommy Too!," said James, who recently moved to Boone, "because black moms are mommies too. We shouldn't be invisible."

James is part of a growing number of black mothers who have turned being overlooked by mainstream media into inspiration to create outlets where they can see and hear themselves. Over the last few years, organizations, books, magazines, blogs and Web portals designed for black moms have emerged. Some call what's happening a burgeoning movement. Others say it's just the right time for black mothers to break out.

"When black folks make strides in other areas, whether politics or medicine, it opens the door for one more person to get in," said Wilma Ann Anderson of New Jersey, who co-founded Mahogany Baby, an online magazine celebrating black parenting. "It may seem like the market is growing, but really it's a domino effect. Some doors are being opened and some are being kicked down. These people whom you see now have been poised to walk through the door for a long time."

James was a stay-at-home mom with two small girls when she decided to create Mommy Too! Magazine. She taught herself Web design, recruited writers to provide articles, essays and poems on topics such as health, motherhood, beauty, living and work. James also started a message board where black mothers could share concerns and successes.

"I wanted there to be a place on the Internet where black moms could come and say, 'I feel good about being a black mom,' " said James, who is also founding director of the National African-American Homeschoolers Alliance.

Building community

From the beginning, mothers responded in a big way.

"I get e-mails all the time from moms across the country saying thank you for having this Web site," said James, who has 13,000 online subscribers to Mommy Too! Magazine. "They were searching for something just like I was. The response and feedback have been phenomenal."

Anderson had a similar reaction with Mahogany Baby.

"I remember folks saying things like, 'I'm so glad you're here. I've been waiting for this for so long,'" said the mother of four.

Anderson said some parenting issues are of interest to people of all races. But other concerns may resonate more with black parents, such as information about illnesses such as sickle cell anemia and diabetes, or certain topics relating to family and career and spirituality.

"It's nice to know there's a community where we can talk freely and hear our perspective," she said.

Anderson, like James, credits Mocha Moms, a national organization for stay-at-home moms of color, with opening the door for greater awareness of the needs of black moms.

"This was a new frontier for all of us," said Kuae Kelch Mattox, national director of media and publicity for Mocha Moms Inc., of the group's formation. "Most of our parents had worked one or two jobs, fought in civil rights movement to give us the opportunities we had. The idea was really to talk to moms in the same boat, share information, support each other through this new and exciting phase of our lives."

Next page >