Mommy Too!

More on mamazine. Here's the direct link to the interview with Jennifer James, publisher of Mommy Too! There's been a bit written lately on the question of is there a mothers movement (and look for a forthcoming article in Brain, Child, on the topic). I was struck by one of the points Jennifer James makes in this interview, that yet again, best intentions (perhaps) aside, most coverage of a "mothers movement" has focused on white women. I can tell you from personal experience that of all the attention my book received, very few reviewers or interviewers ever mentioned the fact that it's one of the few that crosses the color line, that includes long sections on black mothers experiences in our country, of racial tensions in the second wave women's movement that resulted in the issues of middle class and predominantly white women's issues becoming primary. Or that the book interviewed wealthy women alongside welfare-receiving moms, and took all of them very seriously, or that one of the most affluent mothers in the book is African-American, and the welfare moms were mostly white. And believe me, writing this part of the book was the hardest, getting all these mothers' experiences between the same covers. It's just that hard to get messages out that cross these racial lines, messages that are inclusive, that try harder, and don't easily accept our nation's segregations. (Readers: tell me that I'm wrong, tell me media that's done a good job of this so we can all know about it.) So read Jennifer James' interview, and let us know what you think.