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Role Mamas

Some of our favorite Black women on how they became mothers, wives, entrepreneurs, corporate ladder sprinters, & more.

Nicole Lynn Lewis is a statistical anomaly, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her. Pregnant and virtually homeless at the age of 18, a life in poverty seemed like an unavoidable fate. But Lewis wanted more for herself and daughter, so she took on the task of raising a young child while going to school full-time. Now a wife and mother to two daughters, Lewis tells mater mea how she’s using her experience as a catalyst for change.

Los Angeles, California

Endyia Kinney-Sterns has a C.V. that any entertainment professional—and let’s face it, most working adults—would envy: She’s clocked significant time and earned kudos for her work at some of the biggest names in the industry, including BET and now the Oprah Winfrey Network. But it took a major blow to her professional life to teach her what matters most. Kinney-Sterns chats about the misstep she didn’t see coming, but wouldn’t change for the world.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

In the Mendez-White household, where 32-year-old musician Sarah White lives with her partner of 9 years, Rico, and their daughters Izabella (8) and Micaela (2), flexibility is the key to sustaining balance and happiness. It’s also the key to staying afloat in the music industry. White talks to mater mea about maintaining her passion for creating music while putting her family first.

New York City, New York

Hip-Hop is more than a genre of music for Zuhirah Khaldun-Diarra—it was one of the biggest forces in her life, propelling her into a fast-paced career as publicist to some of music's biggest stars, including Jay-Z and the Roots. Khaldun-Diarra explains to mater mea how she translated her passion for music to a new career that, much like Hip-Hop, offers empowerment and inspiration to many.

Westchester, New York

Today more and more women are finding themselves taking a seat at the dealer's table and making what may be the biggest gamble of their lives: "Should I focus on starting a family or furthering my career?" Shoe designer Gwen Frempong Boadu, 46, knows just how high the stakes can get; a devastating diagnosis almost kept her from having a family. Frempong Boadu spoke with mater mea about the life changes she made to have the family she always wanted.

Jersey City, New Jersey

Crystal Black Davis, a career-focused women nearing a certain baby-bearing age, was decidedly in the "never going to have a baby" camp. She tells mater mea how an unexpected blessing changed her mind... and her life.