Amber Edmunds is dedicated to uplifting Black mothers in Pittsburgh. This is her story.

Amber Edmunds photo above courtesy of PublicSource.

When she became a mother, Amber Edmunds experienced just how differently Black and white moms are supported in America. That inspired this Pittsburgh mother of three to dedicate herself to changing that equation. Recently, it also inspired her to write a powerful personal essay.

“I grew up surrounded by women: an army of moms, some single, all occupied by the bulk of the child-rearing. Even as a small child, I saw how exhausting it was to be a mom, witnessed the lack of support for moms, and noted the way they were able to lean into each other to provide encouragement that didn’t come from anywhere else,” Edmunds wrote in her essay for PublicSource.

At first, Edmunds “didn’t want any part of it.” But today, she writes, “I celebrate those powerful women who triumphed over such challenges and adversity.”

Edmunds writes with real honesty about what she’s seen: “So often women, especially Black women, don’t have a space to be heard as they go through the ugly parts of motherhood. It’s supposed to be such a polished, joyful time, but it really isn’t: There’s pain and hardship and isolation in mothering.”

She also shares about her own journey to becoming a doula and working at MAYA, a Pittsburgh nonprofit serving pregnant, postpartum and incarcerated people, and she celebrates the strength and community she has seen time and time again.

Read Edmunds’ essay right here.