Black Matrescence

Dr. Brianna A. Baker introduced the psychological construct Black matrescence to capture the ways in which matrescence is shaped by anti-Black racism, cultural transmission, reproductive surveillance, and historical trauma. Rather than a universal experience, Black matrescence emerged from her research data as a distinct, contextually situated phenomenon, highlighting the affective and social labor of Black women as they transition into motherhood within a structurally hostile environment. Black Matrescence also centers joy, meaning-making, cultural pride, connection, and the ways Black women create expansive possibilities for themselves and their families through motherhood.