Happy Mother’s Mama’s Day Round Up

 

 

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Happy Mother’s Mama’s Day Round Up

via Nuñez Daughter » Happy Mother’s Mama’s Day Round Up by Kismet Nuñez on 5/10/11

This post may be late but don't worry.  Nuñez Mom got her Mama's Day gift right on time.  An Apple gift card (—>Because I am the best daughter ever).

There is no serious writing of my own in this post.  But the work that spilled into my feedly over the weekend reminded me that being a mother of color, a poor mother, a queer mother, an immigrant mother, and/or a childless mother is still a contentious matter.   I can't do the issue justice.  But they can:

Asians Communities for Reproductive Justice  on a new tradition: Mama's Day (via Latoya Peterson blogging at Racialicious (and the reason for the strikeout in the title):

This Mother's Day, we will be commemorating Mama's Day: a celebration of the mothers in our lives who are often overlooked during traditional Mother's Day conversations. In particular, we want to give love to those mamas who are immigrants, single, young, queer or low-income. We know these mamas are often at the core of our families and communities, but are often overlooked or worse — they are scapegoated by policy-makers and right-wing conservatives. Watch the stories unfold on our blog. Download this image and others like it here.

via moyazb posting at the Crunk Feminist Collective:

….There's an irony here that has afflicted black and brown women since this country's illegal founding. Black and brown women are continually disparaged for not being good mothers yet are constantly roped in to taking care of white women's children, often as a means to try and financially support their own families. Even as they are paid chump change in relation to their employer's incomes, they are still regarded as con artists scamming altruistic white folks.

These shows illustrate the need for support networks beyond a nuclear family. Even in two parent households, the amount of labor childrearing requires often exceeds what  a mom and dad can hold. That support should be standard and not only accessible to those with financial means and traditional family structures. Take note #NWNW.  Wouldn't it make sense to have more people trained and prepared to take on these care taking tasks before there's an actual pregnancy? Wouldn't it be awesome if we actually supported parents in child rearing as opposed to expecting them to do it all themselves? With news of the amazing sociological project by high school student Gaby Rodriguez and the lovely video circulating giving love to young mamas, the conventional script of women of color mothering is being interrupted but we still have so far to go.

via Lex and courtesy of the Inspiration Station, an event for all of our complicated relationships to motherhood and mothering:

"Once I Was Pregnant": Stories of Abortion and Miscarriage and Rebirth

By popular demand and with infinite love WE CONTINUE a seven month process called Rainbowed Reclamation, a colorful women of color juicy poetry and food-filled space of sacred discussions that reclaim our bodies, collectivize our spiritual energy and the brilliant choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf…..

Visit the Facebook page for more details.

Leslie Pitterson blogged at Clutch Mag about Nina Simone's daughter launching a site to commemorate her mother's life and memory:

Ninasimone.com has been under construction for a year, but it was well worth the wait.  The site includes an archive of content sure to occupy fans of the singer for hours. In addition to a 24-7 streaming internet radio station of all Nina all the time, the site will also include hours of interviews, recordings and commentary from Nina's contemporaries and those influenced by her work. Best of all? The site will feature previously unreleased songs sung by the jazz great….

& the First Lady:

And I'm going to *blow kisses* to some of my favorite mommies, mamas, mamis, madrinas and madres: mamitamala, La Bianca, Freedom Fighter, bfp and more.  They are all mothering in ways that run from mentoring to godparenting.  And I appreciate them.

 

 

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