MADE Maven Special Women's Issue April 2018 | Page 56

MADEFEATURES
R E A L
L I F E
G E M S
F R O M
rainbow barris
MADE BY MALIZ MAHOP
You may not have realized it,
but you’re more familiar with Rainbow
Barris than you think. Played by Tracee
Ellis Ross as Rainbow Johnson, you’ve
seen intricate details based on Rainbow’s
life on ABC’s hit series Black-ish, which
tell a story of strength and perseverance.
As a doctor, mother of six and wife to
Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, Rainbow
knows a thing or two about having it all
and how to maintain it. On the heels of
her upcoming book, Keeping Up With
The Johnsons: Bow’s Guide To Black-ish
Parenting, here’s what she had to
say…
Y
ou Define The Right Time For You
As a woman with a career, as far as
kids—no time is the right time. There will
always be a reason or a time that you
think or someone else will think or tell
you that’s better. With my pregnancy
with Kayleigh, I had just graduated from
college and of course my mom was livid.
Kenya made a promise to her that I would
finish medical school. I had my second
kid during my second year of medical
school and she said, “Why don’t you just
wait until you get to residency?” Then
I had my next kid during my residency.
At every stage, she asked why don’t you
just wait and I said there is no right time.
Careers for women are different and our
lives are affected much more by kids and
pregnancy than kids than a man because
physically it’s different. So I really have
learned that the right time is really the
right time for you.
You Will Have To Make Sacrifices—As A
Spouse & A Parent
I think you have to be willing and
accept that you will make sacrifices
which I think all parents do, but es-
pecially mothers. Don’t approach life
as far as your career, your marriage,
your kids in the same way you think
your mate should because you’re
going to end up being very resentful.
Understand that you can find equal-
ity in your relationship and in your
marriage without being the same and
it took me a really long time to learn
that.
The Importance Of Having A
Community Of Supportive Women
For a long time, I would think about
things but I wouldn’t express them.
I just hid them and as I’ve gotten
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