Rural Black Doula Chronicles is a tribute to Alice Walker's 'In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose'.
For Mother's Day 2021, I chatted with my mother, Gail, about her experience and perspective on mothering. We shared our journey as Black women, the shape of our mother/daughter relationship, how our relationship has evolved, and how we support each other in our talents and search for self.
As Walker's first collection of nonfiction, they speak out as a black woman, writer, mother, and feminist in thirty-six pieces ranging from the personal to the political. Among the contents are essays about other writers, accounts of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and the antinuclear movement of the 1980s, and a vivid memoir of a scarring childhood injury and her daughter’s healing words. (Amazon Bio)
I think often of the women that raised me, my maternal ancestors that guide me, my visions for being a mother someday soon. I want others to share their stories of mothering and how they've come to know themselves. We don't often hear or see stories of Black mothers that are positive and uplifting. I want to provide a different narrative.
Self Reflection
What is your experience with mothering (mothering someone or being mothered)? How did you come to an understanding of your role? What are ways you enact your mothering or 'othermothering' (ways which Black community, specifically women, support each other)? What beliefs do you hold about mothering.