What does feminist motherhood look like when black mothers are defining it?

Consider this, white feminist motherhood has been preoccupied with how motherhood has trapped women whereas black feminist motherhood sees motherhood as a political act of resistance. This is because white mothers take preservation for granted in the dominant white culture. On the other hand, black mothers need to work hard to protect their children, teach their children how to protect themselves, ensure culture is passed on, and heal those around them who missed out on this kind of mothering. White mothers have a history of their lives being narrowed to the home and have consequently focused their fight on getting the choice to work outside the home, whereas black mothers, who were rarely able to indulge the question of whether to work or not, have instead been faced with a consistent struggle to have their femininity even recognised.

Prof Andrea O’Reilly’s latest book, Toni Morrison and Motherhood: A Politics of the Heart sounds like a must-read! O’Reilly has used the persistent presence of mothers in Morrison’s work to illustrate how Morrison develops a view of black motherhood and a framework for maternal tradition radically different to that of white culture. (See Literary Mama for a review of the book). (This is also a good and accessible summary of the main themes – hi Marie).

I think this reframing of motherhood goes a long way towards explaining why mothers might feel feminism has failed them. It is also why Toni Morrison’s quote, on this list of mine, has been such a favourite with mothers. Morrison captures something about the experience of motherhood that few others manage to articulate. The inability to match up maternal desire with maternal empowerment has alienated many mothers (of all racial backgrounds); in the combination of white definitions of motherhood and black definitions lies the true definition of feminist motherhood.