Riada talks to Anna Malaika Tubbs on her book "The 3 Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King JR., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation"

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

It was my honor and privilege to have Anna Malaika Tubbs as my guest in this episode, and talk about her important, beautiful debut book "The Three Mothers, How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, JR., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation." In this inspiring conversation, Anna Malaika shares what made her write this particular book - with these three women as the main focus, and how difficult it was to find information about them. We get a glimpse of what Alberta, Louise and Berdis taught their sons; there were some obvious shared beliefs and yet they had some different approaches which they used to instill those beliefs in their sons. Anna Malaika explains her emphasis on the diversity and nuance of the Black womanhood experience in the United States, and she graciously unpacks the resilience that these three extraordinary women showed in the face of unspeakable losses. We do address the factor of joy and its importance in these women's lives as well. In her book, Anna Malaika also acknowledges these women's vulnerability, and as she mentions, they were willing to express it themselves. We talked about the importance of both talking about vulnerability and community, particularly considering the context of “strong Black woman stereotype” and the baggage that also comes along with it. We talked about the place of faith for these three women from her book too. Towards the end Anna Malaika tried to summarize at least some of the many goals that she wanted to accomplish by writing this book - referring both to the lives of these three extraordinary women, how these descriptions offer a new understanding of that century of American history, as well as their significance for where United States is today as a country... You'll also be able to learn how and why this work has also been personal for Anna Malaika, as she graciously and kindly shares some thoughts for her vision of the path forward. I hope you will enjoy watching this conversation as much as we did while recording it. I also wholeheartedly recommend that you purchase this book and read it. Author, advocate, educator, and scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Anna grew up abroad in Dubai, Mexico, Sweden, Estonia, and Azerbaijan. Influenced by her exposure to all kinds of cultures and beliefs, Anna is inspired to bring people together through the celebration of difference. Motivated by her mother’s work advocating for women’s and children’s rights around the world, Anna uses an intersectional lens in her work to advocate for women of color and educate others. Anna holds a Masters in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelors in Medical Anthropology from Stanford University. Her academic focus is on addressing gender and race issues in the US, especially the pervasive erasure of Black women. She has published articles on issues ranging from mass incarceration to the forced sterilization of Black women, as well as the importance of feminism, intersectionality, and inclusivity. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, For Harriet, Darling Magazine, and Blavity. Her first book, titled The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, is being published by Flatiron Books and hit the stands on February 2, this year.