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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. I have three daughters and a mom who is alive and well. So with Mother's Day just a few days away here in the U.S., maybe it's no surprise we keep coming back to the same question. How well do we actually tell the stories of mothers?
Every year around January 15th, the world rightfully celebrates the birth of the great Martin Luther King Jr., Yet virtually no one has stopped to consider who else was in that room that day in 1929. As if, somehow, MLK Jr. birthed himself.
In this talk, sociologist and author Anna Maleka Tubbs makes the case that the way we tell or don't tell the stories of moms has consequences far beyond hurt feelings. It shows up in policy or the lack of it.
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.
Anna traces the remarkable lives of three women many people have never heard of. Alberta King, Louise Little, and Bertis Baldwin, the mothers of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. Three women who were activists, scholars, and leaders in their own right, long before their sons became icons, and whose stories quietly reshaped the ones we thought we already knew.
That's coming up right after a short break.
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Chapter 2: How do we tell the stories of mothers in history?
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And now, our TED Talk of the day.
Every year around January 15th, the world rightfully celebrates the birth of the great Martin Luther King Jr. Yet virtually no one has stopped to consider who else was in that room that day in 1929. As if, somehow, MLK Jr. birthed himself. I toured the location where he was born, a charming, quaint two-story home in Atlanta.
And while it was an honor to even be there, I left feeling frustrated by the tour guide's script. Of course, MLK Jr. was the center of most of the tales. And then came stories about his father, the inspiring Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. But what frustrated me was the lack of attention being paid to his mother.
Alberta Christine Williams King, even though this was actually her childhood home first and the home where she later birthed her children in a room on the second floor. This erasure doesn't only concern Alberta. Mothers in the US are often misrepresented or completely left out in the stories we tell. Mothers are used to being seen as selfless beings without needs for others to consider.
They're used to feeling belittled if they stay at home with their children because the narrative says it's unproductive. Or they might even hide the fact that they have children at work so that they're still taken seriously rather than seen as distracted.
And they will not receive credit for the accomplishments of the loved ones they have supported day in and day out, because our retelling of events doesn't feature the many acts of mothering. Beyond such instances being frustrating, I believe they lead to a lack of understanding surrounding the critical roles mothers play in our society. And they contribute to a lack of support for mothers,
If the stories we tell, both on an interpersonal level as well as in literature and in media, deem mothers as unimportant, as unworthy of being seen and considered, then these opinions will be reflected in the way that mothers are treated in our country.
It is not a surprise, then, that in the US, we have yet to establish universal parental leave, universal, quality, affordable childcare, that we are experiencing a maternal mortality crisis, and that many mothers had no other choice but to leave the workforce as a result of the pandemic. Such tragedies have a ripple effect that also hurts our children, our communities, even our national economy.
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Chapter 3: What impact did Alberta King have on Martin Luther King Jr.?
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, Could we convince more people of the need for parental leave, affordable childcare, unbiased healthcare systems, maybe even a guaranteed income? I think we can all agree. Mothers are essential. Mothers are powerful.
Mothers have their own needs and their own identities. Mothers deserve support. It is time our stories and our policies reflect this. We can change the narrative. And when we do, the world will be a much better and equitable place for us all. Thank you.
That was Anna Maleka Tubbs at TED Women 2021. This talk was originally published in January 2022. If you're curious about TED's curation, find out more at TED.com slash curation guidelines. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective.
This talk was fact-checked by the TED Research Team and produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Lucy Little, and Tansika Sangmarnivong. This episode was mixed by Christopher Fasey-Bogan. Additional support from Emma Taubner and Daniela Balarezo. I'm Elise Hugh. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening.
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