Anna Malaika Tubbs

Her firstborn was originally named James Arthur Jones.

He later became known to the world as James Baldwin.

At times, Burtis had no other choice but to leave her children at home to make money as a domestic worker.

She was also the victim of an abusive husband for years.

Without resources other than police officers, who were better known for harassing her community, she endured the pain on her own.

When her husband passed, and she too was only in her 30s, she proudly raised her nine children as a single mother.

These stories are not a part of ancient history, nor should they be seen as separate of other mothers simply because their sons became famous.

They are representative of mothers' experiences, especially black mothers, who to this day are disrespected, denied paid leave, pushed out of their jobs, facing biases in health care systems, are victims of abuse, are mistreated and belittled and who are being forgotten and erased.

Would the world be different today if we'd been telling their stories all along?

I believe so.

If the stories we told of mothers reflected their presence, their importance, their power, their influence, their wholeness and their humanity, then it would be easier for everyone to appreciate their roles and back them with the support that they deserve.

So let's act now.

How about we stop thanking mothers for being selfless and putting their needs behind everyone else's?

And instead, we thank them for being our first leaders, caretakers and teachers.

What if we asked how we could support them in return?

Yeah.

What if we celebrated stay-at-home moms as the essential members of our society that they are, rather than belittling their role?

What if employers and colleagues recognized mothering as the ultimate test of multitasking, organization and empathy?

and highlighted the importance of keeping mothers on their teams.

And what if we produced more stories, books, TV shows, movies that represented mothers accurately,