The couple traveled the country teaching Marcus Garvey’s doctrine of Black independence. Louise Little, Malcolm X's mother, was born in Grenada and met his father in Canada. “I wanted us to explore Black history and American history through the eyes of Black women, Black girls, Black mothers.” “Each of these moments would influence them differently, based off their own access to resources, their own education levels, Jim Crow laws, two World Wars, the Cold War,” she says. Then, she spent time exploring the historical context in which these women lived. Reading books about these famous men led Tubbs to realize that their mothers’ lives weren’t well documented before marriage and motherhood. In the book, Tubbs makes the case that knowing these stories helps us better understand the United States. Or the time James Baldwin's mother, Berdis Baldwin, helped him work through one of the characters of his now well-known play, 'Blues for Mister Charlie.' The new book ' The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation” reframes historical moments around some of the most iconic civil rights leaders.įor instance, author Anna Malaika Tubbs describes an excited Alberta King traveling to Norway to see her son Martin Luther King Jr. (Courtesy) This article is more than 2 years old.Įditor's note: This segment was rebroadcast on Jan. The cover of 'The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation' by Anna Malaika Tubbs.

Anna malaika tubbs the three mothers