1. Shea Butter
This is an incredible gift on so many levels—coming from the shea producer in the village to the small-business owner who manufactures products for the local market so it’s ready for your mom’s hair this Mother’s Day. Hair butter, $18.
2. This Wax-Print Cape Dress
Every mom is secretly a superhero—she just needs a cape (tights are optional when your melanin is on fleek). This wax-print shift dress with removable cape will make Mom feel like she can fly to Wakanda. Made by hand from Zizibespoke in Abuja, Nigeria, this dress lands at your door in seven to 10 days for $130.
3. By Lilla Hair Bands
Moms everywhere need an upgrade. Enter By Lilla, the hair ties that double as bracelets. Give that top knot or ponytail some pizzazz. It’s like hair beading on the go. Sets come three to a pack in bold, bright colors or neutrals that look just as cute on the wrist as they do in your hair. By Lilla sets of two, $15, or stacks of six to eight, $48.
4. Keeping Up With the Johnsons: Bow’s Guide to Black-ish Parenting, by Rainbow Johnson
Crack open a copy of this tell-it-like-it-is guide to parenting and I promise you a wild and revelatory ride through the nonstop life of motherhood. Written by the real “Dr. Rainbow Johnson,” Rainbow Evans-Barris, mother of six and wife of Blackish writer-creator-producer Kenya Barris, Chapter 1 of the book perfectly illustrates how moms put their own needs last.
Bow is alone with the kids and pinned down in a dressing room breastfeeding and in desperate need of a bathroom—for herself. Without a toilet to be found, Bow makes a D-Day plan involving a diaper and marshaling a 2-year-old as the mission commander, which, though perilously embarrassing, was a success. This book gives moms the gift of knowing it’s not just you going through this craziness, so you have to laugh. Hardcover, $13.
5. Go to Sleep Illumy Sleep Mask
When you’re on duty 24 hours a day as a mom, it’s nearly impossible to find enough time. Sleep is crucial for healthy immune system and brain function; it’s also the first necessity that gets cut. Illumy eye mask syncs to your smartphone to time both your waking and sleep cycles. Eye pads are equipped with programmable light sequences that mimic flickering twilight to help ease you to sleep, and the glimmer of sunrise to stimulate waking up naturally. Illumy, $99.99.
6. Sudara Pajamas
Handmade by women in India working to remain free of sex slavery, each garment goes toward job creation for female workers in the Sudara sewing centers. Sudara is a “benefit corporation” that for the last 10 years, along with local partners in India, has helped educate women and keep them out of poverty and harm’s way. There’s nothing like relaxing, feeling comfy and knowing that while you’re reclaiming your much needed time as a mom, you’re also helping other mothers and other women reclaim their freedom. Pajama set, $98.
7. Phillip Ashley Chocolates
With clients like Stevie Wonder, Disney and FedEx on its roster, what’s so special about the brand? Well, this self-taught, Memphis, Tenn.-based confectioner “tells stories that taste like chocolate” in his beautifully handcrafted sets. Chef Phillip Ashley Rix has the luxury chocolate world melting in the palm of his hand with accolades from the likes of Forbes and Taste TV, and in 2016 he was chosen as the official chocolate for both the Oscars and the Grammys. You can give your mom all that flavor in a box for Mother’s Day. Selection of six caramels, $29.
8. Cute Sneakers
A pair of cute sneakers are mother’s little helper. Graphic print sneakers from Inkkas are big helpers in global reforestation, partnering with Trees for the Future’s One Shoe One Tree program. Buy a shoe. Plant a tree and look fly at the same time. There’s something for everyone: Rock ’n’ roll moms will dig the skull print, glam moms will take a shine to the metallics and Afropunk moms most likely will be feeling the Inkkas ikat print. Starting at $74.
9. Indegené Cellars
Situated in the rich growing region of Carmel Valley, Calif., this black-owned winery ships out world-class varieties of affordable wines, including buttery cabernets and spicy pinot noirs. You can’t go wrong with the Edna Valley Pinot Noir, $31.