No More ‘Selfless’ Moms

Notes from America with Kai Wright

WNYC Studios

News Commentary, Politics, History, News

4.4 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2021

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Erased from history. Ignored in public policy. This Mother’s Day, we ask how to truly value “motherwork.” Plus: The story of one “woke birth.” Gates scholar and author Anna Malaika Tubbs encourages each of us to reimagine our relationships with motherhood and challenge the erasure of mothering figures - starting in the past. Her book, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, tells the stories of the three women who birthed, raised and shaped these changemakers. Then, executive producer Veralyn Williams brings us a series of conversations about the decision to become a mother in the U.S. in spite of unsettling Black maternal mortality statistics. Companion listening for this episode: “Collective Loss, Collective Care” (3/15/21) A reflection on the remarkable ways communities have come together to take care of themselves during a year of COVID-19. “The Necessary Work” (9/7/20) Ai-jen Poo of the National Domestic Workers Alliance tells the origin story of today’s movement to value care workers, and reporter Jenny Casas dives into the history of cleaning up after New Yorkers. “The United States of Anxiety” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on WNYC.org/anxiety or tell your smart speakers to play WNYC. We want to hear from you! Connect with us on Twitter @WNYC using the hashtag #USofAnxiety or email us at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the United States of Anxiety, a show about the unfinished business of our history and its
0:07.0	grip on our future.
0:08.0	The rules of the workplace are really stuck in the 1950s and 60s, where there's this assumption that dads go to work and
0:14.6	mom stayed home well that's just not true. I'm as good as he is I've got a brain
0:18.7	of my own and I intend to make the most of my life too. My mom is on me like
0:22.4	when are you getting married when
0:23.9	are the kids coming you're gonna ruin your life if you don't have children.
0:26.7	I lost my mom to COVID. I miss her so much you guys.
0:30.3	It does indeed take a village for the sake of children and parents we must build
0:39.8	these modern villages. We also need to make a once in the generation investment in our families and our children.
0:45.6	When we talk about black maternal health, we're talking about reproductive health care.
0:49.4	Let's be clear about that.
0:51.0	In this White House, your voices will always be heard.
0:57.0	Welcome to the show. I'm Kay Wright and it's Mother's Day.
1:01.0	Hey Ma, you told me this very afternoon that every day ought to be Mother's Day and true, very true, I agree. But we are celebrating it in particular today. And this year's celebration I have to say is more
1:15.5	fraught than in any year in memory which is maybe a good thing because as we've
1:21.2	lived through this pandemic,
1:22.9	more people have begun thinking more meaningfully
1:26.2	about motherhood, about the work involved,
1:29.2	about who does that work and who does not,
1:32.1	about how it's supported and valued literally for the first
1:36.8	time in decades the political conversation has begun to acknowledge that taking care of
	...

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