Long journey of our ancestral mothers

On this Mother’s Day, let’s reflect on the voice of the Black mother through the ages, the voice of resilience, instructing her children about the struggle for freedom and equality.

As we travel back in history, an early enslaved mother’s voice can be heard giving her enslaved children hope of the future as a means of protecting them from “the rigors of slavery.” And the enslaved children’s love for their mother was demonstrated in their high esteem toward her, with many enslaved children refusing to run away because they “could not bear the idea” of leaving their mother. Putting herself in harm’s way, the enslaved mother took enormous risks to teach her children how to survive in bondage. Even though the slave family was highly unstable due to the whims of the enslaver, it was an important survival mechanism where the enslaved children relied on the enslaved mother to raise their spirits.

Following 300 years of labor as a slave, a new voice began to emerge from the Black mother, demonstrating a shift in focus. This new voice spoke of the American promise of equality and opportunity, finding ways to improve the life chances for success for her children, which would lead to a happy, productive adulthood.

Also, this new voice expressed a willingness to work hard to help provide for her children, hoping that her determination would help send them through school, including college. There is an expectation that she wants her children to do better than she did, having a future, going some place and being something. This is her dream that she wants to realize through her children, encouraging them to take advantage of the new opportunities with an attitude of self-confidence and assertiveness.

Now, there is a new freedom due to the long journey of our ancestral mothers. They harbored a dream that they were determined to pursue, letting nothing get in their way and being willing to work hard. Looking back over our history, we see the agony and despair our foremothers endured. All they wanted was to pass the torch to their children, hoping we would accept the challenge and follow in their footsteps.

We’ve come a long way from those dark nights, and the dreams they had, along with their faith, must keep us moving “up the great stairs.” We must not retreat from the struggle, for there is much work to be done. Our foremothers gave us the gift of their faith and the courage and strength to keep pressing on. Their dream of a just society must come true. The sacrifice of our ancestral mothers — “their sweat, their pain, their despair” should become our “torch for tomorrow.”

Today, the voice of the Black mother shouts, “I have to keep on! No stopping for me.” Just as Black mothers help their children to learn to love their blackness, White mothers have the challenge to raise their children free of prejudice.