(Re)Conceptualizing Black motherwork as political activism

Abstract

In 2020, Black Americans voted in historic numbers in the US presidential election. Black women political activists were instrumental in navigating voter suppression to increase voter turnout among Black communities. Here, I draw linkages between Patricia Hill Collins's conceptualization of motherwork and Black women's political activism. I reconceptualize Black women's motherwork as a political tool for preparing Black women for political candidacy to address issues that threaten Black family stability. I provide a conceptual history of motherwork and map out what Black women's political motherwork looks like for families and communities. I conclude with theoretical, analytical, and practical implications for family scientists to consider when using Black political motherwork in their scholarship and practice.

Decentering intensive mothering: More fully accounting for race and class in motherhood norms

“…Resistance is also reflected in the concept of motherwork developed by Patricia Hill Collins that emphasizes the roles of community survival, empowerment, and racial identity interwoven into the mothering strategies of mothers of color in the face of racial domination (1994). Motherwork arises from the recognition of the importance of collective and enriching communities in the face of structural oppression (Collins, 1994; Cooper, 2007; Edwards, 2022). One type of motherwork is the work Black mothers across social class do to ensure their children's success in an educational system fraught with racism.…”

“…In this way, Black mothers express agency and empower their families in the face of steep and persistent educational inequalities by navigating a complex system, policies, and authority figures to ensure optimal education outcomes for their children (Cooper, 2007). Edwards (2022) extends the concept of motherwork further, emphasizing the role of political activism in motherwork, specifically in the form of efforts to counter voter suppression and the support and political preparation of Black candidates who will help to ameliorate issues faced by Black families. Black mothers across social class have a long history of engaging in political activism that is often intricately linked to how motherhood is enacted (Webster, 2017).…”

Introduction to the special issue on theorizing families, anti‐racism, and social justice

“…The second group of articles seeks to conceptualize or reconceptualize anti‐racist and social justice constructs relevant to understanding family life, which include a historical tracing of the development of the construct(s). Edwards (2022) reconceptualizes Collins' (1994) notion of motherwork to include Black women's political activism as a tool that prepares Black women for political candidacy such that they can better work to address issues that jeopardize the stability of their families and communities. Anderson, Morton, and Trejo (2022) offer a conceptualization of cumulative witnessing as a form of racialized violence and racial trauma for Black youth and families.…”

Intersectional blackness matters: Why family science should care about the College Board's A.P. African American Studies course controversy

“…Family Science has come to understand the importance of challenging a white‐centered conceptualization of family. Recent publications in the Journal of Family Theory & Review bear this commitment (Allen & Henderson, 2022; Battle & Serrano, 2022; Bonilla‐Silva, 2023; Edwards, 2022; Jones et al, 2022), but there is always more work to be done in presenting a broader picture of families and their experiences. For example, the ideological regime of intersectional anti‐blackness continues to justify institutionalized inequality that ultimately shapes the real, material, daily life chances of Black people.…”