User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
"The mother is the first teacher of the child. The message she gives that child, that child gives to the world."
Malcolm X
Three intelligent mothers who believed in equality and respect for all; three mothers raising three sons who would make an indelible mark in history as they fought in their different ways for their rights as American citizens. Three mothers born within a few years of each other, all outliving their famous sons. These mothers had much in common, although their circumstances and resources were quite different. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin were all taught, molded and deeply loved by Alberta, Louise, and Berdis respectively.
As a white woman living in 2021 I can only imagine the anguish and hardships of poor black woman raising children in the Jim Crow South. Although all three were promising students, only Alberta King was able to obtain a college degree. With the support and love of her family she was able to pursue a career and develop her musical talents. Neither Louise nor Berdis had families that were able to support them or provide the finances that would have given them choices. Poverty was a constant for Louise and Berdis. Racial discrimination and violence by white supremacists were present for all three, but they would not be defeated by it, nor would they allow their sons to be defined by it.
The influence of a mother, both negative and positive, has long been know. Alberta, Louise, and Berdis represented the very best a mother can be under some of the worst conditions. They were united in their belief in the value of education. They held fast to their convictions of self worth, respect, and dignity. They believed change was possible and there was hope in the future. These beliefs guided these three icons of the Civil Rights Movement.
This book arose out of the author's doctoral dissertation on Black motherhood. It is a perspective of history that has needed a voice. While never underestimating the travails these mother endured, I did feel this well-researched book might have given a smidgen of credit to mothers in general. How many mothers of other Black men and women have been overlooked? How many mothers of famous men and women of any race have been neglected?
Rating: really liked it
I was so excited to get this book. I've always been curious about the mothers of three great men. But where do you start? How do you find the information that you need? I was so eager to dive into this book and I must admit I feel like these three mothers. This book is full of love and compassion for their sons. How they were raised and taught shows the type of love that they received. This book also helps me to understand that no matter what as a mother when are always teaching our children and trying to have their lives better than ours. We lose sleep and suffer because of the love that we have for them. This book shows me that not only were these three mothers exceptional mothers but they didn't get the credit that they deserved. We have to prepare our children for the world. And unfortunately, they had to live to see their son's death. This book is beyond amazing and so needed at a time where mothers are hardly given the credit for raising such incredible men. Thank you book browse for giving me the opportunity for this advanced reading book.
Rating: really liked it
Content/Topic: 5
Technical: 2
Audiobook Performance: 2
A must-read topic, but the book is severely hampered by its rudimentary writing and sophomoric audiobook narration (which is further undermined by unacceptable T-glottalization). I wanted better, and these three women deserve better.
Rating: really liked it
The lack of information about these women makes this book really ambitious and forces the author to speculate a lot. It’s a great idea. Not sure it’s pulled off.
Rating: really liked it
So this book definitely has an interesting premise, but I don't think Tubbs was really apt to write it? And actually I don't know if anyone would be apt to write it, because there just isn't enough information about these three women. There weren’t many primary sources like their own journals or letters, so it seemed like a lot of speculation. Obviously these mothers were very influential to their iconic sons, but it was very much just listening to civil rights history that I already knew about and then a line about their mother probably supporting them through this. I was underwhelmed.
Rating: really liked it
The Three Mothers is an eye-opening read that encourages us to take seriously not only the ways in which Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin were shaped by their mothers but also how these women resisted assaults on their own personhood as Black women and claimed their dignity when very few would. Drawing from a myriad of sources that indicates her prowess as a researcher and scholar, Malaika Tubbs does a masterful job of weaving together the stories of these women, their work, and their impact on their children to paint an accessible, thought-provoking portrait of the promise and pain of Black motherhood. Furthermore, by detailing these mothers’ lives through the historical context in which they were born, struggled, and strived, Malaika Tubbs skillfully reminds us that it is impossible to tell the story of America, much less the world, without centering the experiences of Black mothers in particular and Black women in general. This profound truth makes The Three Mothers required reading if we are to give an honest account about who we and the men we admire are indebted to, and who is owed our deepest respect, support, and love - Black women.
Rating: really liked it
Spotted this via a New York Times article and thought it sounded like an interesting read. We know the names and more of the histories of their sons, but we don't know much about the mothers of these famous men. How were they, all Black women, part of the historical narrative that involved Jim Crow and would shape their sons to become the men we know today?
I know various bits of these three men from school as well as reading things like Malcolm X's autobiography, a biography of Coretta Scott King, Baldwin's 'Giovanni's Room', etc. but I didn't know what to expect. It probably wasn't a surprise that all three women had a hand in shaping their sons and influence who they would each grow up to be and if you're not someone who is familiar with any or all three of these men there's probably insights you wouldn't know elsewhere.
That said, the negative reviews are on point. I'm not entirely sure either as to what telling the stories of these women necessarily add (especially in this combination vs. individual biographies but perhaps there wasn't enough material for that). It also does painfully read like an academic dissertation rather than a readable biography but your experience may vary.
Ultimately this wasn't really for me but I can absolutely see this as a book of reference or for research purposes or as a related reading for a class, etc.
Library borrow for me and that was best.
Rating: really liked it
I wish I could give this 3.5 stars-I liked it, but I felt that it was hard to follow-the jumping between families made it difficult to remember who was who. I also thought there was a LOT of assuming about what is and isn't a good mother, and a lot of assumptions about the women's lives-how they felt about their husbands, their families, their roles. (she would have seen x, she would have been able to do y, etc.) I also wasn't wild about a line early on that said that the importance of a birth parent can't be overstated-that's just not true, and a lot of incredible parents aren't birth parents. Just rubbed me the wrong way right off the bat.
Rating: really liked it
“Their lives did not begin with motherhood; on the contrary, long before their sons were even thoughts in their minds, each woman had her own passions, dreams, and identity.”
THE THREE MOTHERS
For me, Valentine’s Day is not just about romantic love. It can be about any love. The love for a parent, for a sibling, for a friend, for a fur-baby, and especially love for one’s child. The Three Mothers by Anna Malaika Tubbs shines a light on three women whose sons are some of America’s most beloved activists. It was their love and encouragement that made those boys into the men they would become. But before they were mothers, they were women. They were women with their own passions, dreams, and hopes.
Alberta Williams King was the mother of Martin Luther King Jr. She was born in 1904 in Atlanta, Georgia. Before she married Martin Luther King Sr. She went to school to get her teaching certificate and taught for a short time. Education was very important to her and something that she instilled in her children. When I simplify it like this, it sounds so generic. But what is missing is the struggle. As a Black woman in the United States at this time, she had faced every obstacle to keep her from getting an education. She became a huge part of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and founded its choir. She knew the dangers that her family faced in the fight for Civil Rights. Six years after the assassination of her son, she was also assassinated.
Louise Little was the mother of Malcolm X born in the year 1984 in Grenada. She is the granddaughter of Jupiter and Mary Jane Langdon who was kidnapped in Nigeria and sold into slavery. Louise was raised by her grandparents and later married Earl Little. They moved around a bit. They were often attacked and harassed by white supremacists. Earl died in 1931. Later, Louise would be institutionalized in a mental hospital against her will. She taught her children to always question everything, to educate themselves, and to never stand down. Malcolm X would go on to be a minister of Islam, human rights activist, and spokesman for black empowerment. While Louise was eventually released from the hospital, after what seemed an endless fight, she would have to endure the grief and horror of the assassination of her son in 1965.
Emma Berdis Baldwin was born in 1903 in Maryland. She would give birth to James Baldwin out of wedlock but they would move to Harlem in 1922. She not only had to endure racism as a Black woman but also as a single mother. She would marry David Baldwin in 1927. He was a Baptist preacher and he and James had a very difficult relationship. Go Tell It On The Mountain is a semi-autobiography written by James Baldwin about his childhood. Despite tensions at home, James Baldwin would always care for his mother and support her in any way he could. He would also go on to become a writer and activist. He died from stomach cancer in 1987. Berdis would live for another 12 years and after her death, she was buried next to her son.
These women lived through some of the most prominent events of the 20th century. Their experiences shaped them and their parenting. While a lot of information about them is not well-documented, it is important to not forget about them. They would all bury their sons, the sons that helped changed the world. The author did a fantastic job of researching these women. This book was inspired by the author becoming a mother herself and what it means to be a mother today. This book is absolutely phenomenal from beginning to end. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
Rating: really liked it
The Three Mothers is genius, well researched and crafted, and so full of love. I truly commend Tubbs for being able to see through the devastation and pain and create something that honors the lives of these women and gives Black women everywhere hope and inspiration. I'm going to break this review up by some of the sections in the book.
The Circumstances of Our Births cw:rape
I learned so much about the history of GA in this chapter, and really love how Tubbs grounded us in what was happening historically and culturally first in order to set the scene for what the three mothers would have to go through and overcome. This section also highlights the rape of Black girls and women. It's hard to read but also sets up Tubbs' later points about Black women having the choice of when to give birth being a revolutionary act.
The Denial of Our Existence I never even thought of Black women also working factory jobs during WWI. There really is so much history we (Black women) are excluded from. Hidden figures for real. She also touches on the representation of Black kids in the media, and it really shows why representation is so important, especially when people try to make you doubt your greatness and think of you as inferior.
This section reminded me how easy it is to get angry when learning about Black history. It's really unfathomable to me how you could have so much hatred for someone based on the color of their skin and culture. But this section also led to me talking to my mom about our family history and the strength of my great grandmother, so I'm thankful for Tubbs' writing.
Our Trials, Tribulations, and TragediesI wish our people were given access to therapy and medication. Thinking about the pain and traumas that were passed unknowingly on because the root problems couldn't be addressed and were only exacerbated by the treatment of Black people in this country. And Louise's life really upset me the most. The way the state treated her and her family was terrible and yet I know that there must have been other mothers also ripped from their families. Our country is good at separating mothers and their children.
Loving Our Sons This section took me almost an hour to get through because I was reading so many articles and watching clips about the events it talked about. That's another thing I loved about this book is that it makes (almost necessitates) you do your own research. I'm also thinking about the strength of these women who had to go on after the assassinations and deaths of their children even if they may have not wanted to. We are all the better for the sacrifices, grief, and pain these women had to experience.
The Circumstances of Our DeathsI know that the book is about these three women, but I still appreciate how the book didn't end with the deaths of their sons. We got to see the impact the mothers continued to have on their families and communities. Also I had no idea about how the death of Alberta King happened, and I feel like that should be talked about just as much as her son's. The two situations do not live in a vacuum.
Our Lives Will Not Be Erased I wholeheartedly agree with Tubbs that the stories of our existence and perseverance need to be told. I'm going to do a better job about asking for stories from my family.
Overall, this book was amazing, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Rating: really liked it
Cannot recommend this book highly enough! The detailed examination of each of these three families, paired with heartrending historical and social context, creates a story that's important and utterly gorgeous.
Rating: really liked it
The text is gripping and illuminating. The content is heartbreaking, horrifying and infuriating. This is a reminder that great men come from somewhere, and their fathers are not the only influence upon their lives. In fact, in the cases of each of these greats: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and James Baldwin, their mothers were critical to their senses of self worth and self-respect, and their education and strength.
These mothers were Berdis Baldwin, Alberta King and Louise Little. Each of these women came from different economic backgrounds, and had to deal with so much adversity personally, while raising their families amidst a culture that brutalized and murdered all African Americans. The author does a fantastic job of telling each woman's story, and showing how they were instrumental in keeping their families together to the best of their abilities and how they were sources of inspiration for their children and for their communities. This was a terrific book, a necessary book, and a reminder of the great importance and impact of Black women and mothers on society.
Rating: really liked it
Tubbs is absolutely right that society seeks to efface Black mothers from history, and this book struggles to redress that injustice. By writing a social history inclusive of racialized gender violence, she locates each woman in her everyday context to show how she might have behaved. Unfortunately, if you know something about these women's sons, you will not learn much new here. That is all the more reason we need more efforts like this to reclaim these lost stories of perseverance and courage.
Rating: really liked it
I received an advance copy of this book from another online book group. I’m glad to have read this book because I learned background on Alberta King, Berdis Baldwin, and Louise Little that I didn’t previously know, but a good deal of what these mothers contributed to the lives of their sons seems to be what the reader would assume a “good” mother would do and the presumption that only their sons’ better traits were shaped by their mothers. I’m still not clear how these women had insights that shaped a nation; however, this book is a good introduction to the lives of Martin Luther King, Jr., James Baldwin, and Malcolm X.
Rating: really liked it
Three Mothers is a difficult book for me to review. The story is of course uplifting and inspirational. These three women were courageous, strong mothers. Their stories are eye-opening. I found myself sad for their suffering, and angry at the world they found themselves living in. It made me feel the devastation that comes from acknowledging all the ways my country hasn't changed. The perspective of the book is unique, thought-provoking and interesting. I do wish it were longer, and that I could have spent more time in each of their shoes.
