The Quarterly Renewal is a living archive–capturing stories, milestones, and reflections to inspire collective renewal and remembrance. 

Welcome to Issue II.

 

As a truly grassroots organization in every sense, we are used to being scrappy, bold, resourceful, and deeply imaginative. And if I’m honest, sometimes it’s overwhelming. We’re not backed by large corporate, foundation, or government grants; we’re funded by the people, through community donations. That means we work hard for every dollar we receive.

 

I wouldn’t have it any other way because it allows us to remain accountable to the community we serve, not to institutions with their own agendas. But my hope for this year, for Loving Black Single Mothers and for every grassroots organization like ours, is that we don’t have to work so hard for the money, especially at a time when our work is more necessary than ever. My hope is that we’re funded in a way that allows us to do the work without constantly fighting for survival. That we’re resourced not just to meet immediate needs, but to dream, plan, and build toward long-term change.

 

Because the truth is, the work we do…supporting Black single mothers…is essential. It’s not extra…it’s not charity; it’s survival, stability, and possibility. And yet, organizations like ours are often expected to do the most with the least, to stretch every dollar beyond its limit while larger institutions sit on wealth they’ll never need.

 

So, as we move through this year, I want to invite you to imagine something different with me. A world where care work is valued, where mutual aid is not a last resort but a foundation, where Black mothers don’t have to prove our worthiness to receive support. And I invite you to not just imagine but to act. Whether that means sharing our work, making a donation, or simply holding space for a vision of a world where we don’t have to fight this hard just to exist.

 

With love and determination,
Toi Smith
Founder, Loving Black Single Mothers

At Loving Black Single Mothers, we often joke (and tell the truth) that we’re people who like to do the most. But part of stewarding Loving Black Single Mothers well is being in honest conversation with our desires and our capacity. As we close out this season’s Holiday Love cohort and prepare to wrap our first year of Forever Flourishing, we’re being intentional about creating space to internalize these endings. We’re asking: How can we build in time to reflect, to rest, to renew—so that we can stay in right relationship with our values and create space to attune to the work calling us forward? These lessons in pacing, renewal, and care are as much a part of our anti-capitalist practice as anything else, shaping how we move not only in the world, but in our operations, too.

 

Reflect with us on what we’ve been tending to over the last several months…

 

 

Our intentions this season are simple, but steady. We’re focused on closing out the inaugural cohort of Forever Flourishing with care and reflection. We’re also strengthening our internal systems, securing funding to ensure the sustainability of our work, caring for the collaborators in our orbit, and reviving the Dreamspace so that mamas can have a space to gather, unlearn and learn, and dream new visions together. 

Issue I of The Quarterly Renewal (January 2025) 

 

Nikolai Pizzaro, founder of Raising Readers, equips parents with the tools to embody a trauma-informed, emotionally responsive, culturally relevant home culture that's grounded in science, supports literacy instruction, and of course...shows up with that bell hooks kind of love. Check out these freebies and resources! 

 

Watch: We loved this TikTok that a Black mother shared because it’s such a beautiful representation of respectful, protective, and empowering parenting. The mother treats her child as capable, deserving of dignity, and as someone who has the right to boundaries…even with adults. It’s an embodiment of mothering that centers emotional safety, autonomy, and unconditional support.

 

Art: When They Look Back (No. 3) by Deborah Roberts