Babywearing has always been an integral part of motherhood for me. It started with this innate need to keep my firstborn close. So I researched. I started with a Moby, moved to a Ring Sling, then a Bjorn, and finally an Ergo Baby.
I didn’t know much about the cultural context of babywearing until I was pregnant with my second born.
Desperate for a community with moms who looked like me, I started scouring Facebook for groups. “Black Women Do Babywear” was the first mom group I joined. They opened my eyes to a whole world of babywearing options!
That group also taught me the ramifications of cultural appropriation and the colonization of babywearing. I decided on using a traditional African wrap called a kanga when my second oldest child was born, in an attempt to reconnect to something I didn’t even know was stolen from me.
I remember the first time I carried him on my back in public… to the children’s museum in Memphis, Tennessee, where we lived at the time. There was a family there from West Africa, and after asking me where I was from, they complimented how I was carrying my son.
“That is exactly how we do it at home!”
Home. My heart soared! I texted my mama and my husband to tell them about my stamp of approval. I was so self-conscious to wear him outside this way because while my white counterparts were wearing expensive handwoven wraps with intricate twists and knots, I had this simple piece of cloth and a little baby nestled to my back.
This cloth is deceivingly strong and resilient (it can still hold my almost 4-year-old) much like my people. I can’t wait to pass this reclaimed tradition down to all my children (because dads babywear, too!).
This is my black history.
