Muffy Mendoza

As a 19-year-old single mom, catching the bus to college, carrying a baby bag and a book bag, pushing a stroller through the cold Pittsburgh winter, Muffy Mendoza got looks and stares. The eyes said, “you are a villain – robbing America to collect entitlements.”

Yet Mendoza knows Black mothers are more often the heroes, building stronger Black communities and children. “Black women matter, because the hand that rocks the cradle is also the hand that shapes the nation,” she says. “I enjoy revealing to Black women their worth and value in a society that often silences them.”

She founded Brown Mamas, a network of 6,700 moms in the Pittsburgh area that offers in-person and online connection, support, and mentoring. Each month, its digital and social posts reach a national audience of tens of thousands.

Mendoza was an Essence Festival author and named to The Root 100 list of most influential African Americans for her book, The Brown Mama Mindset: A Blueprint for Black Moms on Life, Love & Home.  She is a graduate of the Facebook Community Accelerator and has been featured by CBS, The Wall Street Journal, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Her experience as a TEDx speaker led her to create a stage for others. The “Brown Mama Monologues” have helped more than 50 mothers find healing and affirmation through sharing their stories in performances in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC. Mendoza shows that the villains of every story have the potential to be the victors of our stories.