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Three Mothers

How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation

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Three Mothers

By: Anna Malaika Tubbs
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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A fascinating exploration into the lives of three women ignored by history … Eye-opening, engrossing’
Brit Bennett, bestselling author of The Vanishing Half

In her groundbreaking debut, Anna Malaika Tubbs tells the incredible storIES of three women who raised three world-changing men.

Much has been written about Berdis Baldwin's son James, about Alberta King's son Martin Luther and Louise Little's son Malcolm. But virtually nothing has been said about the extraordinary women who raised them, each fighting their own battles, born into the beginning of the twentieth century and a deadly landscape of racial prejudice, Jim Crow, exploitation, unpoliced violence and open police vitriol.

It was a society that would deny their sons’ humanity from the beginning as it had denied theirs, but Berdis, Alberta and Louise were extraordinary women who instilled resilience, resistance and greatness in their sons. They would become mothers not just to three world-famous men but to the civil rights movement itself.

These women represent a piece of history left untold and a celebration of Black motherhood long overdue.

 Americas Freedom & Security Politics & Government United States Women Social justice Social Movement Civil rights
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Critic reviews

‘An intimate narrative that aims to link not only Little, King and Baldwin, but all Black mothers’
New York Times Book Review
‘Through Tubbs' writing, Berdis, Alberta, and Louise's stories sing. Theirs is a history forgotten that begs to be told, and Tubbs tells it brilliantly’
Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist
‘A fascinating exploration into the lives of three women ignored by history … Uncovers hidden complexities within black motherhood that illuminate our understanding of the past while also shedding light on the overlooked contributions of black women today. An eye-opening, engrossing read’
Brit Bennett, New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half and The Mothers
‘Does what Black women do best: hold up the light in darkness, calling us all to do our work … Anna is a powerful storyteller, and we should all be grateful she chose to tell this story’
Brittany Packnett Cunningham, co-host of Pod Save the People and co-founder of Campaign Zero
‘A profound reflection on the contours of Black freedom in the twentieth century and beyond … An essential celebration of Black women, one that illuminates the history of racism and resistance in critical new ways. A timely and important book’
Elizabeth Hinton, author of From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime
‘Magnificent … An intimate explication of motherhood as the shoulders upon which children stand … but it's also a love letter to these three particular Black women; a scholarly rejection of the trope of Black woman as conquered victim; and a literary declaration that Black women know best how to survive in this broken world while actively mending it for everyone’
Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult
All stars
Most relevant
This book is a beautiful window into the lives of three women who have huge historical significance. As a white woman and mother, my own experience is vastly different but this book offered insight and depth into the beauty, struggles, love and strength of black mothers in general as well as these three in particular. Brilliant storytelling, a must-read.

A brilliant read

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I was not aware of any of the information about these three women and the role they played in shaping their influential sons. It was so important to be reminded of the context they had to raise them in and the similarities and differences between now and then, The repetition of the women’s names throughout meant we appreciated them as women first and wives and mothers second. I am glad that these three women were highlighted together and that their three stories were interweaved in each chapter. A harrowing listen but one that should be shared in schools and colleges across the globe so that their influence can continue to be felt by Black people everywhere.

These stories had to be told

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