littleflute
commented
2 years ago Transcript
00:03 Every year, around January 15th, 00:06 the world rightfully celebrates the birth of the great Martin Luther King Jr. 00:12 Yet, virtually no one has stopped to consider who else was in that room 00:16 that day in 1929. 00:19 As if somehow MLK Jr. birthed himself. 00:24 (Laughter) 00:26 I toured the location where he was born. 00:28 A charming, quaint two-story home in Atlanta. 00:32 And while it was an honor to even be there, 00:35 I left feeling frustrated by the tour guide's script. 00:39 Of course, MLK Jr. was the center of most of the tales, 00:43 and then came stories about his father, 00:46 the inspiring Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. 00:51 But what frustrated me 00:52 was the lack of attention being paid to his mother, 00:56 Alberta Christine Williams King. 01:00 Even though this was actually her childhood home first 01:05 and the home where she'd later birth her children, 01:07 in a room on the second floor. 01:11 This erasure doesn't only concern Alberta. 01:15 Mothers in the US are often misrepresented or completely left out 01:20 in the stories we tell. 01:23 Mothers are used to being seen 01:25 as selfless beings without needs for others to consider. 01:30 They're used to feeling belittled if they stay at home with their children 01:34 because the narrative says it's "unproductive." 01:38 Or they might even hide the fact that they have children at work 01:42 so that they're still taken seriously rather than seen as distracted. 01:48 And they will not receive credit for the accomplishments of the loved ones 01:52 they have supported day in and day out 01:55 because our retelling of events 01:57 doesn't feature the many acts of mothering. 02:03 Beyond such instances being frustrating, 02:06 I believe they lead to a lack of understanding 02:09 surrounding the critical roles mothers play in our society, 02:13 and they contribute to a lack of support for mothers. 02:18 If the stories we tell, 02:20 both on an interpersonal level as well as in literature and in media, 02:25 deem mothers as unimportant, 02:28 as unworthy of being seen and considered, 02:32 then these opinions will be reflected 02:34 in the way that mothers are treated in our country. 02:39 It is not a surprise, then, 02:41 that in the US we have yet to establish universal parental leave, 02:47 a universal quality, affordable child care, 02:52 that we are experiencing a maternal mortality crisis 02:56 and that many mothers had no other choice but to leave the workforce 03:01 as a result of the pandemic. 03:05 Such tragedies have a ripple effect that also hurts our children, 03:10 our communities, 03:12 even our national economy. 03:16 As a writer and sociologist, 03:18 I believe that storytelling plays a necessary role 03:22 in fixing our current trajectory; 03:25 that through the intentional centering of mothers, 03:28 we can not only make life better for them, 03:31 we can actually make life better for everyone. 03:35 The way to get organizations and our government 03:39 to give mothers the resources that they desperately need and deserve 03:44 is to first shift our perspective of motherhood on a cultural level. 03:49 I am on a mission for that shift to happen in my lifetime, 03:53 especially for mothers of color 03:55 who have historically received the least resources. 03:59 I have spent the last several years studying three women in particular, 04:04 whose life stories show, 04:06 number one, just how easily we disregard mothers, 04:10 and number two, 04:11 how a lack of consideration for their needs and their contributions 04:16 leads to a lack of intervention and support. 04:20 While it may be too late to help the three of them, 04:23 I believe their life stories provide guidance 04:26 on how we can make the world better for moms 04:29 and everyone they impact today. 04:33 So let's first go back to Alberta King. 04:37 Alberta was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1903, 04:41 to the leaders of Ebenezer Baptist Church. 04:44 Even as a young girl, she was an activist. 04:47 She participated in marches and boycotts, 04:51 and she even joined her parents as some of the very first members of the NAACP. 04:57 She believed that Christian faith 04:59 must always be intertwined with social justice, 05:02 and she used her education to advance freedom causes. 05:07 Alberta grew up to be a talented organizer and a musician, 05:11 as well as a mother of three. 05:15 Before meeting her husband, 05:17 Alberta was on her path to becoming an educator. 05:19 She earned a teaching certificate and a bachelor's degree. 05:23 But because the law stated that married women could not teach, 05:28 she was forced to walk away from a formal career. 05:32 She still did everything she could 05:34 to provide for, educate and protect her family and her community members. 05:39 But that same care and shielding was not afforded to her in return. 05:45 Her life was tragically taken 05:48 when she was shot in the back 05:50 as she played the church organ. 05:55 The second story begins in La Digue Grenada, 05:59 at the very end of the 19th century. 06:02 A little girl is influenced by her grandparents 06:05 to always stand for Black pride and Black independence 06:10 by any means necessary. 06:13 At the young age of 17, 06:15 she travels to Montreal, Canada, on her own, 06:18 to spread the message of Black liberation. 06:22 And she joins the Marcus Garvey pan-African movement. 06:27 This is just a brief introduction to Louise Langdon Little, 06:32 a multilingual scholar and activist 06:35 who also brought eight children into the world, 06:40 one of whom was named Malcolm Little originally. 06:45 He later became known to the world as Malcolm X. 06:50 When Louise's husband was murdered 06:52 and she was widowed when she was only in her 30s, 06:56 white welfare workers started showing up and entering her home, 07:00 questioning the way that she was raising her children. 07:04 A white male physician was sent to evaluate her, 07:07 and he concluded that she was experiencing dementia, 07:10 citing that she was "imagining being discriminated against." 07:16 (Audience murmurs) 07:19 As a result, 07:20 she was institutionalized against her will 07:23 for around 25 years. 07:29 Each of her children were taken from her 07:31 and they were placed into separate foster homes. 07:38 The final story starts in the small town of Deal Island, Maryland, in 1902. 07:45 A little girl's life begins in tragedy when she loses her own mother. 07:50 But through this moment of darkness, 07:52 she becomes somebody fixated on light and on love. 07:57 A talented writer, 07:58 she uses her prose to inspire those around her 08:01 to let go of their own pain and their hatred. 08:05 As a teenager, 08:06 she travels to New York in search of a new start, 08:10 and she arrives in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance. 08:15 This is just a brief introduction to Berdis Jones Baldwin, 08:20 a mother of nine. 08:23 Her first born was originally named James Arthur Jones. 08:28 He later became known to the world as James Baldwin. 08:34 At times, Berdis had no other choice but to leave her children at home 08:39 to make money as a domestic worker. 08:43 She was also the victim of an abusive husband for years. 08:48 Without resources other than police officers, 08:51 who were better known for harassing her community, 08:54 she endured the pain on her own. 08:57 When her husband passed, and she too was only in her thirties, 09:02 she proudly raised her nine children as a single mother. 09:08 These stories are not a part of ancient history, 09:11 nor should they be seen as separate of other mothers 09:14 simply because their sons became famous. 09:17 They are representative of mothers' experiences, 09:21 especially Black mothers, 09:23 who, to this day, are disrespected, denied paid leave, 09:28 pushed out of their jobs, 09:30 facing biases in health care systems, 09:33 are victims of abuse, 09:36 are mistreated and belittled, 09:38 and who are being forgotten and erased. 09:43 Would the world be different today, 09:45 if we'd been telling their stories all along? 09:49 I believe so. 09:50 If the stories we told of mothers reflected their presence, 09:56 their importance, their power, their influence, 10:01 their wholeness and their humanity, 10:05 then it would be easier for everyone to appreciate their roles 10:09 and back them with the support that they deserve. 10:14 So let's act now. 10:17 How about we stop thanking mothers for being selfless 10:21 and putting their needs behind everyone else's? 10:23 (Applause) 10:30 And instead, 10:31 we thank them for being our first leaders, 10:34 caretakers and teachers. 10:37 What if we asked how we could support them in return? 10:41 (Applause) 10:42 Yeah. 10:44 (Applause) 10:47 What if we celebrated stay-at-home moms 10:50 as the essential members of our society that they are 10:54 rather than belittling their role? 10:55 (Applause) 11:01 What if employers and colleagues recognize mothering 11:04 as the ultimate test of multitasking, 11:08 organization and empathy? 11:10 (Laughs) 11:11 (Applause) 11:14 And highlighted the importance of keeping mothers on their teams. 11:19 And what if we produced more stories, 11:23 books, TV shows, movies 11:26 that represented mothers accurately? 11:31 Could we convince more people of the need for parental leave, 11:35 affordable child care, 11:38 unbiased health care systems, 11:41 maybe even a guaranteed income? 11:44 I think we can all agree. 11:47 Mothers are essential. 11:50 Mothers are powerful. 11:53 Mothers have their own needs and their own identities. 11:58 Mothers deserve support. 12:02 It is time our stories and our policies reflect this. 12:07 We can change the narrative. 12:09 And when we do, 12:11 the world will be a much better and equitable place for us all. 12:16 Thank you. 12:17 (Applause and cheers)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSwg04B81YM