Melissa,

As we enter Mother’s Day weekend, I can’t help but thinkabout all of the black mothers who have helped shaped the course of history. Near the top of that list is Claudette Colvin. As you know, Colvin refused to giveup her Montgomery bus seat to a white person nine months before Rosa Parkssparked the boycott. Rather than becoming the posterchild for the modern civilrights movement, however, Colvin has been reduced to a mere footnote in history. Why?Because, as a poor single mother, her profile was incompatible with the“politics of responsibility” that has historically governed black activitywithin the public sphere.

While the Colvin story is interesting in its own right, itforces me to think about the broader significance of black motherhood in America.From “welfare queens” to “baby mama drama,” black mothers are consistentlymarked by discourses of pathology, moral condescension, and outright hatred. Rather than being celebrated for struggling against the odds, black women are often criticized for not being able to find or keep the "strong black man" who will allegedly rescue the black community. I'm not trying to be a downer here, but it's hard for me to romanticize this holiday in light of these depressing circumstances.

What do you think, Melissa? As a scholarand mother, how do you view the politics of black motherhood?

Marc 

P.S HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!