Bereaved Black Mothers and Maternal Activism in the Racial State

Mothering after Moomba: Labelling, secondary stigma and maternal efficacy in the post-settlement context

“…It is also important to acknowledge that the 'orthodox' criminological literature on parenting and parental efficacy is overwhelmingly gender-blind and has little to say theoretically about the role of mothers and mothering. Rather, criminological research on mothering has typically been the domain of critical and feminist scholars who examine women's experiences of primary (Seccombe, James & Walters 1998) and secondary stigmatisation (Condry 2007), maternal activism in the aftermath of lethal violence (Cook 2020;Lawson 2018), and the criminalization and responsibilization of maternal conduct (Roberts 1995). Although these literatures do not explicitly engage with experiences of mothers in the post-settlement context, they highlight the benefits of examining the gendered scrutiny that mothers, particularly women of colour, experience in Western patriarchal societies.…”

Motherhood, moral authority and the charismatic matriarch in the aftermath of lethal violence

“…Her position as a White, middle-class woman who was well-educated and articulate in her experiences raised the profile of the issue across different communities. There were particular features of Rosie's identity, therefore, that informed her role as a charismatic matriarch, namely race and class, which as Hartzell (2017: 66;Lawson, 2018) and others note is an important feature that moderates the 'good motherhood' story in public:…”

“…The role of mothers and mothering in activism has been variously described as ‘maternal activism’ and ‘motherist movements’, which each speak to women’s deployment of the maternal identity in activism for the purpose of social and political change (Nathanson, 2008). The transformative potential of this public political role for mothers has been noted by a number of scholars interested in feminist politics, social movements and social policy who note the importance of maternal identities in raising the visibility of issues where maternal work moves from a private sphere to a public one (Lawson, 2018).…”

“…Therefore, while not all those involved in Mothers Against Violence may have shared or identified with the same religious grounding as June, her followers did take inspiration from her sense of resolve and belonging that religion provided for her. As an older, Black British woman in the community in Moss Side, June’s role as a charismatic matriarch was also shaped by a broader effort that challenged the hostile treatment of young Black men in inner-city Manchester (see also Lawson, 2018). Her role and purpose in this sense became part of a wider project to encourage and rebuild relations between police and the local community which had historically been lacking.…”

“…Her position as a White, middle-class woman who was well-educated and articulate in her experiences raised the profile of the issue across different communities. There were particular features of Rosie’s identity, therefore, that informed her role as a charismatic matriarch, namely race and class, which as Hartzell (2017: 66; Lawson, 2018) and others note is an important feature that moderates the ‘good motherhood’ story in public:Because ‘good motherhood’ is culturally valued, activist mothers who strategically recite norms of ‘good motherhood’ can productively elicit identification and empathy – yet, because ‘good motherhood’ is implicitly coded as white, these productive capacities are significantly limited for mothers of color.…”