Celebrating Black Motherhood with Anna Malaika Tubbs

Anna Malaika Tubbs is a New York Times Bestselling author, advocate, and educator who is inspired to bring people together through the celebration of difference. Motivated by her mother’s work advocating for women’s and children’s rights around the world, Anna uses an intersectional lens to advocate for women of color and educate others. Her focus is on addressing gender and race issues in the US, especially the pervasive erasure of Black women which she explored in her recent release The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation. 

Connect with Anna and her work in the links below: 

• Book: https://amzn.to/3wam81h

HIGHLIGHTS

02:23 The secret power of power naps 

05:12 The story behind the book 

10:24 Rewriting the stories of the black mothers 

15:22 The role of white supremacy in the erasure of black mothers' stories

19:50 Black people do not need to educate everyone of their pain

22:35 We don't need to carry the burden alone

23:40 Anna's self-care habits and ways to prioritize family

32:35 Ways that society can improve their treatment of black mothers 

38:32 Raising a black family in this political climate 

50:19 Change is always possible in the world

QUOTES

08:31 Anna: "It happens all the time, that black women's stories are erased, that black mother's contributions are taken for granted. But I narrowed it down to the civil rights movement because we come back to it all the time in our policy discussions."

10:30 Anna: "It's very clear there's an intentional erasure of women's stories, and very specifically black women's stories. Because it doesn't fit this kind of hegemonic notion of this white male who is the leader, this white cisgender male as the hero of every story. It doesn't fit that, we're just gonna say it never happened or it didn't exist."

34:59 Anna: "These biases in our healthcare systems that tell back women, you're imagining this, this is just something you're feeling, happen over and over and over again. The black maternal health crisis, so much of it is a result of bias against black women that doesn't hear us, when I say this is happening to me." 

36:48 Anna: "We as a nation have seen over and over again that policing should not be responsible for social work. There should be more funding put towards social workers and de-escalation and thinking about other resources that people could call, especially victims of domestic violence."

41:16 Anna: "I needed to keep a hold on my joy and my love, and not allow fear to be the only thing that I was feeling. To use that fear as a driving force, to face it, not to hide it.  Say don't be afraid, but say yes, this world can be very scary but my joy and my agency is something I need to hold on to because that's how I continue to fight against these forces."

Please leave a five-star review for the Get Loved Up Podcast. When you leave that review, please take a screenshot and email me at koya@koyawebb.com, and I’ve got a little gift for you.

Your thoughts light up Koya’s soul, and it helps continue to bring on great guests.

To hear more about Koya Webb and Get Loved Up episodes, please visit her website at https://koyawebb.com/.