We’ve all heard of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin. Their exploits in pushing for change in America are well documented and honored. But, due in part to the marginalization of Black women in American history, most of us know very little about the three mothers who raised them.
A new book is trying to change that. Anna Malaika Tubbs is the author of “The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped A Nation.” In it, Tubbs argues that understanding the lives these women led can help us to develop a fuller understanding of our national history.
We discuss the erasure of these important women, and why knowing their stories matters.
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