The three mothers : how the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin shaped a nation / Anna Malaika Tubbs.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781250756121
- ISBN: 125075612X
- Physical Description: 261 pages ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Flatiron Books, 2021.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-251) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Introduction -- Part I: The circumstances of our birth -- Part II: The denial of our existence -- Part III: Our men and marriages -- Part IV: The birth of our children -- Part V: Our trials, tribulations, and tragedies -- Part VI: Loving our sons -- Part VII: Losing our sons -- Part VIII: The circumstances of our death -- Conclusion: Our lives will not be erased. |
Search for related items by subject
Genre: | Biographies. |
Available copies
- 14 of 19 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 0 of 1 copy available at North Kansas City.
Holds
- 3 current holds with 19 total copies.
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
North Kansas City Public Library | 306.874308 TUBBS 2021 (Text) | 0001002434569 | Nonfiction | Checked out | 05/08/2024 |
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BookList Review
The Three Mothers : How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin were all born within five years of each other in the 1920s. While their lives have been extensively documented, this intriguing triple biography of their mothers--Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin--covers new territory and offers insights into Black women's lives during the early twentieth century. These three women's backgrounds could not have been more different. Alberta was the cherished only child of a respected Atlanta minister, Louise was raised by her grandparents in Grenada, and Bertis grew up with her widowed father, a fisherman from Chesapeake Bay. All three would live to see their sons become famous, and all three would see their sons die way too soon. Tubbs does a masterful job of interweaving the facts of these women's lives into the evolving social and political histories of civil rights, including accounts of the horrific injustices suffered by women of color. This book arose out of Tubbs' doctoral dissertation on Black motherhood. Her passion to give voices to overlooked people of color is evident, and her storytelling is compelling. This important piece of scholarship and profoundly personal portrayal of African American women deserves a wide audience.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020
Publishers Weekly Review
The Three Mothers : How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Educator Tubbs debuts with an engrossing triple biography of Alberta King, mother of Martin Luther King Jr.; Louise Little, mother of Malcom X; and Berdis Baldwin, mother of James Baldwin. Though these women have been "almost entirely ignored throughout history," Tubbs writes, their teachings and approaches to motherhood "were translated directly into their sons' writing, speeches and protests." All three overcame prejudice and social restrictions on an almost daily basis and "strove to equip their children not only to face the world but to change it," Tubbs writes. Alberta King (neé Williams) earned a college degree and became a leader of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where her father, husband, and son all served as pastors. Louise Little (neé Langdon), an immigrant from Grenada, was a leader in the Marcus Garvey movement. Berdis Baldwin (neé Jones) raised her children single-handedly after her husband's death, and pushed them to fight hard for their educational opportunities. Though the world "tried to deny their humanity and their existence," Tubbs writes, Alberta, Louise, and Berdis gave their sons the foundation to achieve greatness. Tubbs skillfully draws parallels between each woman's story, and vividly captures the early years of the civil rights movement. This immersive history gives credit where it's long overdue. (Feb.)
Library Journal Review
The Three Mothers : How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Sociologist Tubbs begins this biography of three remarkable women by stating her intention to honor the subjects as accomplished and inspiring people in their own right, not only as mothers of famous men, and follows through beautifully on this promise. The stories of Berdis Baldwin (1901--99), Alberta King (1904--74), and Louise Little (1897--1991) are woven together, from their family histories and early childhoods to adolescent years, marriage, motherhood, and the losses of their sons. This makes clear the similarities and patterns among the women's lives and how the events and challenges of their times shaped their paths. The author writes with great respect and provides just the right amount of information to leave readers with an understanding of their complicated lives, shaped by the devastating racism of early 20th-century America but full of love and independence. The narrative makes clear that each woman made possible the accomplishments of her famous child with her own resilience, determination, and activism. VERDICT This compassionate book skillfully introduces three people who have had an important impact on the world but whose lives receive little attention. Readers will complete the book feeling their time was well spent.--Sarah Schroeder, Univ. of Washington Bothell
Kirkus Review
The Three Mothers : How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr. , Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A welcome biography of three noted civil rights icons who were indelibly influenced by their mothers. In her debut book, sociology doctoral candidate Tubbs, a Bill and Melinda Gates Cambridge Scholar, offers informative, admiring biographical portraits of Alberta King, Louise Little, and Berdis Baldwin, women who shaped the lives and work of their sons Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. Although "almost entirely ignored throughout historyâ¦ignored in ways that are blatantly obvious when the fame of their sons is considered," these women, Tubbs asserts, deserve attention because they represent the struggles faced by Black women from the early 1900s through the 1960s--and, attests the author, citing her own experience, even in the present. "I am tired of Black women being hidden," she writes. "I am tired of us not being recognized, I am tired of being erased. In this book, I have tried my best to change this for three women in history whose spotlight is long overdue, because the erasure of them is an erasure of all of us." Each woman believed in the importance of education for her children, and each advocated for civil rights: Alberta's father was head pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church and a co-founder of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP; college-educated Alberta married preacher Michael King, and together they inherited leadership of the church. Louise left her native Grenada for Montreal, where she joined her uncle as a Garveyite and married a fellow activist. Berdis, single when she gave birth to James, had joined the Great Migration, first living with relatives in Philadelphia and then moving to Harlem during the Renaissance, where she married James' stepfather. Contextualizing the women in their tumultuous times, Tubbs examines racism, police brutality, and life under Jim Crow to establish "the direct connection" between the mothers and their sons' "heroic work." The men, writes the author, "carried their mothers with them in everything they did." A refreshing, well-researched contribution to Black women's history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.