In Gratitude to Mothers Everywhere
“While the sons have been credited with the success of Black resistance, the progression of Black thought, and the survival of the Black community, the three mothers who birthed and reared them have been erased. This book fights this erasure.”
-Anna Malaika Tubbs
Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin have been on our minds this Mother’s Day. In her new book, The Three Mothers, Anna Malaika Tubbs tells the forgotten stories of these three remarkable women who raised influential Black American men: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. All three men are well known for the enormity of their contributions, yet it seems incredible that we know so little about the women who raised them. It certainly speaks to the omission of mothers and the vital role they play in a child’s development.
While all three women shared the traumatic challenges of being Black and raising sons in a deeply racist society, Tubbs highlights how their own individual sensibilities and experiences most certainly shaped the brilliant sons they raised. We are all enriched by learning these stories as it prevents us from the lazy and all-too-common tendency to fold Black Americans into a single narrative. We all lose when we do this because it stymies our understanding and dulls our awareness of the human experience that surrounds us. By presenting each woman as a unique human, Tubbs grants them back the humanity and respect that they so deeply deserve, and we as a society, so desperately need to hear.
Here at BEE – Beyond Equity in Education, we understand the danger of a single story. In fact, we believe that seeing past contrived narratives is at the center of all we do. We acknowledge the profound impact mothers have on the future generation and are proud to be in community with so many phenomenal women who bring their whole remarkable selves to the role of ‘mother.’
Join The Hive to participate in a live discussion of Tubbs’ important book this summer (date TBD). We can’t wait to see you there!
