Unsung heroines who raised icons and changed history THREE MOTHERS – HOW THE MOTHERS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR, MALCOLM X AND JAMES BALDWIN SHAPED A NATION Anna Malaika Tubbs William Collins Publishing

IN HER groundbreaking debut, Three Mothers, Anna Malaika Tubbs celebrates black motherhood by telling the story of the three women who raised and shaped three of America’s most pivotal heroes: Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin.

While so much has been written about Berdis Baldwin’s son James, Alberta King’s son Martin Luther, and Louise Little’s son Malcolm, virtually nothing has been said or is known about the extraordinary women who raised them. They were all born at the dawn of the 20th century with its horrendous landscape of racial prejudice.

The start of the 20th century saw Jim Crow, exploitation, unpoliced violence and police violence. It was a society that would deny these women their sons’ humanity from the beginning as it had denied theirs, but Berdis,

Alberta, and Louise raised their children to hope and work towards a better life.

Louise fought her own battles for change and taught her children about their activist roots. Berdis encouraged James to express himself through his writing and Alberta based her lessons in faith and social justice. She brought up Martin Luther to believe in what was right, and to dream.

Building up their sons towards resilience, resistance and greatness, they would become mothers not just to three world-changing men but to the civil rights movement itself.

In their common goals and differences, as individuals and as mothers, these three amazing women represent an untold slice of history and a celebration of black motherhood long overdue. |