Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (JMI - York University)

Berman, Rachel C.

Silver, Susan

Wilson, Sue

English

"Don't Look Down on Me Because I Have One": Young Mothers Empowered in a Context of Support

Contributor Notes

Wilson, Corinne

An Inappropriate Transition to Adulthood? Teenage Pregnancy and the Discourses of Childhood in the UK

Etowa
					, Josephine

Adongo
					, Louise

Cultural Competence: Beyond Culturally Sensitive Care for Childbearing Black Women

Wright Williams
					, reviewed by Dawn

270        Volume 9, Number 2
Book Reviews
In Raise Up a Child, storyteller Edith Hudley shares her life experiences 
growing up in rural Texas during the Jim Crow era. Presented as an oral his-
tory, Wendy Haight and Peggy Miller explore the life of Edith Hudley and 
show how the strength of her family and extended community supported her 
to overcome life’s obstacles and live a fulfilled life.
Raise Up a Child focuses on human development, in particular child devel-
opment in African American families. Authors Haight and Miller recognize 
the lack of research focusing on the development of African American children 
and other children of colour within the context of their particular cultural 
values and beliefs. To expand the field of child development, they believe that 
a diverse group of voices needs to be heard.
This book is written for a dual audience; the authors describe it as a “hybrid 
text, reaching a general readership and a more specialized audience of scholars 
and practitioners.” They seek this dual audience by offering Edith Hudley’s 
life story in her own words and supplementing it with a “series of scholarly 
interludes.” Alternating between colloquial narrative and informed analysis, the 
book follows the various phases of Hudley’s life and offers practical scholarly 
insight for those in the human development professions. As well, there are 
three appendices that refer to the important events and people in Hudley’s 
life, and provide academic notes that give the anthropological and sociological 
contexts for her narrative.
The work is comprised of five major parts that recount the significant 
memories and experiences of Edith Hudley, while demonstrating the effects 
Raise Up a Child: 
Human Development in an African American Family 
Edith Hudley, Wendy Haight, and Peggy Miller. 
Chicago: Lyceum Books, 2003.
Reviewed by Dawn Wright Williams
 Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering        271 
Book Reviews
of her having a loving and spiritually enriched childhood that carried her 
through difficult life experiences. She lost her mother at age ten, for example, 
and experienced racial discrimination and sexual exploitation. The unique of-
fering of this book, however, is its examination of Hudley’s positive life experi-
ences. Haight and Miller argue for the importance of Hudley’s story, not as a 
stereotypical “virtuous, strong black grandmother” story, but as a contrast to 
the typical “risk and disadvantage” narratives that are often found in scholarly 
works on African American human development.
Edith Hudley’s vibrant and colourful stories evoke the joyful memories 
she has of her childhood with her parents, of growing into adulthood, and 
becoming a wife and mother herself under the supportive guidance of the 
“other mothers” she had in her life. Further, she shares the story of becoming 
an “other mother” to her own granddaughter, who was abandoned by Hudley’s 
daughter-in-law, and to the other children she cares for from her Utah church 
congregation.
Raise Up a Child offers an African American perspective on child rearing 
that reflects a general spiritual and cultural experience that is shared historically 
by many in African American communities. If offers readers a first-person ac-
count and demonstrates the need to study diverse cultural models of human 
development. It also serves as a useful instructional text for readers interested 
in positive child rearing practices.
In 1975, when a renowned sociologist and authority on Black people in Can-
ada discovers the Abbott Collection, Catherine Slaney’s uncle decides that it 
is time to reveal the family secret: that Slaney’s family is descended from Dr. 
Anderson Ruffin Abbott, the first Canadian-born Black doctor. At age 24, 
Slaney and her family discover their Black heritage when they were formerly 
living as white.
Published by Natural Heritage Books, a publishing house that celebrates 
the rich history and contribution of Blacks in Canada, Family Secrets: Cross-
ing the Colour Line attempts to tell the story of Slaney’s ancestors. The author 
traces the Abbott’s history as former slaves in the United States, their arrival 
in Canada, how her great-great-grandfather, Anderson Ruffin Abbott, became 
Family Secrets: Crossing the Colour Line 
Catherine Slaney. 
Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 2003. 
Reviewed by Karen Nelson Villanueva


Raise Up a Child: Human Development in an African American Family

Gormley
					, Louise

The Experiences of Mothers of Children of Mixed Heritage: The Theme of the “Body Physical”

Hunter, Linda

Young Mothers in Canadian HIV Awareness Posters: Underrepresentation and Concerns

Willey
					, Nicole L.

Mothering in Slavery: A Revision of African Feminist Principles

Anderson, Shantella

 Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering         197 
When I get on the bus people intend to be mean. 
There are some nice ones out there but it’s hard for them to be seen. 
When I walk down the street they stare and glare like 
All eyes on me.
As my child calls me mom they stop and look straight at me.
They can look, they can judge, but I know that I am loved. 
I hear them say, “Young and, stupid. Not done school.
she ain’t even fit to be a mom.” 
They think I’m not listening, 
well guess what—yes I am fit to be a mom. 
I will be the best that I can, 
because I’m my daughter’s number 1 
because I’m only 18 I don’t have much to say 
They are nothing above me. 
They are as low as the dirt on my shoes 
cause they could only sit and chat me. 
I am proud to be me, for being a mom, 
for carrying her for 9 whole months. 
I’m proud of the hours I was in labour, 
for looking and touching her for the first time
 for keeping her safe, 
for making sure she’d always be healthy. 
I’m saying it loud because I’m proud. 
Shantella Anderson
Loud and Proud


Loud and Proud

Oolagen Community Services,

 Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering         173 
Oolagen Community Services
These are the personal accounts of three young mothers dealing with life as a 
single parent, with little in the way of financial resources or support. Essence, 
Lynn, and Arika all live in Toronto and participate in the Wraparound process 
at Oolagen Community Services. Wraparound is primarily a planning process. 
It is an opportunity for isolated individuals and families to build community 
supports and to use those supports to work towards achieving their goals and 
aspirations. The Wraparound process is strength-based and client-driven. 
Many young mothers who have suffered significant marginalization and 
socio-economic disadvantage are empowered by the process; and, perhaps, 
for the first time are in a position where their voice is the loudest at the table. 
Essence, Lynn, and Arika are also members of the Young Moms’ Committee, 
a place where young moms who are either participating in Wraparound or 
have already completed the process, can meet to support one another, share 
knowledge, develop skills, and do advocacy work. It was within the context 
of the Young Moms’ Committee that this writing was generated. Lastly, it is 
important to note that the narratives do not encapsulate the whole of these 
young mothers’ realities but rather only speak to one aspect of their day-to- 
day obstacles and joys. Indeed, the women expressed that they would need 
to write a book if they were to talk about all the different issues and needs of 
young, single parents in Toronto.
The fulfilling struggle
Being a single mother, my main struggle is providing for my boys on a 
day-to-day basis. We are on social assistance and there is never enough money. I 
just get by every month. Every day I think about groceries, two sizes of diapers, 
Essence, Lynn and Arika Speak
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174         Volume 9, Number 1
Oolagen Community Services
clothes, rent, bills, and getting rid of my debt so I can go to college. My life 
has a very basic schedule—up at 6:00am, daycare, school, then home to clean, 
cook, go to the gym, nap if possible, pick up my boys at 5:00pm, dinner, play 
together (quality time), watch TV, and then I do my homework. This is my 
life everyday. I don’t think there is any way to make my days easier. I say it’s a 
struggle but I love my boys and my life. Being a mother is the most fulfilling 
thing that ever happened to me. I wish my boys could have a father figure but 
I’ve dealt with this situation within myself—I ’m their mother and father.
           —Essence
Everyday lives of single parenting
My name is Lynn. I’m 25 years old and a single mom. I have three chil-
dren and I go through everyday life as a struggle. I’m stressed, upset, lonely, 
and angry everyday. I love my children so very deeply and I made a mistake 
once—I pay for it every single day. It’s like people don’t believe that someone 
can change. Nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes, and some of us pay for 
them a little harder than others. It’s like this—I got into a little trouble with 
the law, it wasn’t too serious, but I was incarcerated and did a little time and 
my children were taken away from me. Now I’m struggling and fighting to 
get them back. 
One child, my eldest, was placed with a family member and now I have 
a custody battle. My middle child was placed in temporary care and now I’m 
having problems. I don’t have the money to go back into the country. They 
don’t want to come to my country. They keep coming up with excuses on why 
they can’t come to me. It’s very stressful, tiring, upsetting, disappointing, and 
I’m just fed up. but I will never give up the fight. I will fight up until my last 
breath has been taken.
               —Lynn
The ups and downs of no male role model
I am writing about the positive and the negative sides of being a single 
mother without having a father figure for my daughter. The first negative fac-
tor of not having a father around is discipline—everyone knows mothers are 
nurturers and fathers are providers. Not in this day in age! More and more 
young mothers are having this problem throughout the world. When you have 
a strong-willed child, it is very hard to discipline them without breaking their 
spirit—whether you have a father around or not for them. 
I found that talking to my child and listening to her helps me to understand 
her and be there when she needs me. 
When it does come down to disciplining her, I get very frustrated and 
annoyed, which is very bad because she senses my vibes and knows she is get-
ting to me. I just have to take a deep breath and tell myself to calm down and 
go to another room until she and I both calm down.
If her father was in the picture I think it would be a little easier to deal 
 Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering         175 
Essence, Lynn and Arika Speak
with her temper tantrums and mood swings—because of my tiredness or 
whatever else. On the other hand, the positive thing about not having a male 
role model is the bond that we share. I do believe it would not be as strong if 
there was male influence in her life.
Also, the thought of ever losing my child in a custody battle would be 
devastating.
Another negative that I worry about for my daughter living without a 
father is her self-esteem and sense of worth when she is older. Her lack of 
communication with her father would make her wonder if he loves her or 
even cares about her.
                —Arika


Essence, Lynn and Arika Speak