Black motherhood is a special kind of job that comes with its fair share of challenges. Although rewarding, raising a black child of any gender in this country does not come easy. The discussion of black mothers are always associated with being strong, over protective, and overcoming the hard stages that come with parenting. Black mothers take pride in what they do for their children, but is there a safe space to go when they want to celebrate their accomplishments? Tika Sumpter and Thai Randolph launched their new lifestyle brand, SugaBerry, that shares joyful content about motherhood.
Mixed-ish actress, Tika Sumpter, was blessed with her first child, Ella-Loren, back in 2017. As a new mother she searched the internet for support groups and conversations about the joyful side of motherhood with women who looked like herself. Thai Randolph, EVP and general manager of Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud, fellow mom and Sumpter’s best friend, faced the same problem. Randolph, who faced fertility issues with her husband back in 2018, endured her own set of troubles when coming into motherhood. These ladies want to change the narrative through a platform that promotes motherhood can be enjoyed, not just endured.
“We want to talk about all the little nuances of what it means to be a mom,” says Randolph. “From postpartum to delighting in like the smell of your child’s hair. We want to talk about all of the little delicacies and also some of them like real hardships.”
The brand co-founded by these two ladies, Sugaberry, is called “the brown mama’s guide to the sweet life.” The brand is also accompanied with a weekly podcast called “The Suga”, whos in which the goal is to celebrate sisterhood and motherhood especially in the black community. “Our topics range from mental health to just the indulgence of enjoying motherhood and making space for oneself, regardless of where you are on the spectrum,” says Sumpter. “We don’t only wear the badge of strong Black moms. We have vulnerabilities and things we need to talk about. We have to put our own mask on before we put anybody else’s.”
First episode has already launched this week and you can expect to hear some special celebrity guests like Jazmyn Simon from HBO’s “Ballers” and Dr. Imani Walker of Bravo’s “Married to Medicine Los Angeles.”