We are celebrating Shellie McKinney of @momnetworkusa today, a first generation Muslim American and dedicated community organizer, who channels the resilience and spirit of her immigrant mother from Barbados. Growing up, Shellie learned from her mother's lead and "make lemonade" squeeze, founding an organization that is making the lives of our Muslim moms and children better.  But what ARE the experiences of a first generation immigrant who code switches Bajan so adeptly, you wouldn't guess s...

Creating the Lives We Want

Mommying While Muslim is a one of a kind podcast where American Muslim moms share their experiences to raise second generation kids. Having experienced both pre and post 9/11 America, they're acutely aware of the unique challenges their families face on top of the regular messes that all moms share. Mommying While Muslim is a space to take back their stories, and tell those no one will air on the news or portray fully or fairly in the media. Host Uzma Jafri is mom first, careerwoman second, and global citizen at heart. She meets taboo topics head on because she wasn't allowed to do it growing up, not at home or at school and work. Her aim is to better her immediate household, community, and her momsisterhood the world over by telling the truths sometimes people don't want to face or to hear. Not everyone has these privileges, and she is eager to learn as well as share her own experiences. Always looking to give back, MWM finds women and families who need a mic because no one needs a voice; they just need an opportunity to speak. Besides tough social issues, MWM tackles political ones because when laws affect kids, we're coming for them as well as the ones who make them! There's no lane that doesn't get taken here. Along the way, MWM recruits momallies for Muslim Americans who have been inordinately targeted for the last 20 years. True moms know that ALL our children deserve to be safe, loved, and happy, and we bust every yellow brick on the Islamaphobic road to make sure they all are. If you like good trouble, this one's for you!