Black. Single. Mother. with Jamilah Lemieux

About this episode

Jamilah Lemieux discusses her book on single motherhood and the cultural narratives surrounding Black families with Dr. David J. Johns.

Jamilah Lemieux is a writer, cultural critic, and — officially, loudly, and necessarily — a published author. Her debut book, Black. Single. Mother.: Real Life Tales of Longing and Belonging, dropped in March 2026, and it is already doing exactly what the best books do: making people uncomfortable in the most clarifying ways. In this conversation, Jamilah and I go deep. We talk about what Aunt Toni Morrison taught us about writing the books we need—and what it means to actually do it. We trace the wreckage of the 1965 Moynihan Report, the myth of the absentee Black father, and the way respectability politics decides which single Black mothers this culture chooses to celebrate and which ones it chooses to punish. We talk about Nia Long, Taraji P. Henson, and Cardi B. We talk about the African ancestral village and why every-other-weekend is not enough. And we talk about what it costs all of us—not just women—when we fail to love one another fully. This is one of those episodes you share. With the single mothers in your life. With the men who need to hear it. With anyone who's ever made an assumption about what a Black family is supposed to look like The class is in session. SHOW…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dr. David J. Johns, Thomas Cunningham IV

Guest: Jamilah Lemieux

Topics covered

• single motherhood
• cultural criticism
• Black family dynamics
• respectability politics
• literature and writing
• community and belonging

Keywords

• Black motherhood
• cultural critique
• family structure
• absentee father myth
• literary influence
• community support

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Black. Single. Mother.

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