Authors:

TaNiyah Phalo

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

So many Black mothers experience intertwining forces of oppression that have continuously barred them from stability, autonomy, and resources. The burden of being centered between racial and gendered oppression, too often results in Black women facing psychological consequences. Black mothers have a unique role in navigating the ways in which they parent children to empower and protect their children from a society that fears and often rejects them. The purpose of this piece is to explore how Black motherhood is depicted in literature and used as a scope to explore how systemic racism, societal beauty standards, neglect, and violence impact the way Black mothers in select literature raise their children. This work analyzes The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Push by Sapphire, and Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow to compare the way intergenerational trauma and structural violence can offer a path of healing or one of destruction. The authors are not just the tellers of these stories but have lived experiences mirrored through their narratives. Intergenerational trauma occurs when a parent has suffered their own abuse and or negative childhood experiences which affect their parenting and creates a cycle of abuse. They challenge the readers to recognize that through the addressing and dismantling of various social structures, Black mothers will no longer have to parent under conditions of fear, insecurity, and pain. Across these three novels, the authors reveal how Black motherhood is greatly influenced by the weight of racism, policies, and societal pressures. It brings up the point that Black women are not the ones failing their children, systems are failing Black mothers. OOOO OOOO OOOOH OSH OOOO T OOOOH OOGC HEHE HOOT OEOOOOOCO DPIFIFIDSFDFDIFDIFDIFDFDIDIIDIDIIFHHGDIDIIDIDHHIHIIHOD

Source:

Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

TaNiyah Phalo