Indeed, there is nothing like the immense support I have received from my mother, Latitia Dillard.
In virtually every component of my life, she has been inspirational in some form and encouraged my four sisters and me to achieve at the highest level possible. Quite honestly, “influential” is an understatement to characterize my mom.
Primarily, my mother taught us from a very young age to keep God first; to make Him our “bull’s eye,” as she used to say. As I recollect various occurrences throughout my childhood, I wish I had been more appreciative. As a child, I was well behaved, but as a mature adult, I truthfully recognize the value of my mom and how her hard work and contributions paid off.
Academically, professionally, athletically, religiously and otherwise, my mother has gone far out of her way to ensure I reached my absolute highest potential (my dad as well, but I get to put my mom on a pedestal for this piece). The hours of sleep she has sacrificed to support me and my siblings in extracurricular activities throughout school deserve nothing short of uppermost gratitude.
In addition, I always remember my mom putting herself last, treating others the way she wanted to be treated and carrying herself in a godly fashion. In addition, she serves as a respectable role model for my sisters to look up to as young women, and perhaps future wives.
As Patricia Hill-Collins highlights in her scholarly work entitled “Black Women and Motherhood,” the concept of motherhood is of central importance to the Black community. Black culture would not be as influential, as unique, as widespread, as dominant, or as pulchritudinous without the notable contributions of Black mothers.
My mother grew up in the inner city of Washington, D.C., and was raised primarily by my grandmother – another strong Black woman who helped raise me. The principles, standards and values my mother learned growing up is what made her the phenomenal woman she is today, something I will always hold in high regard.
It is paramount for me to be mindful of the lasting impact my mother will have – values I will pass on to those who will come after me. It’s hard to express truly how influential Black motherhood has been to me as a 23-year-old Black male.
Nina Lyon Jenkins, a Maryland-based author and academic, wrote an in-depth dissertation exploring the importance and the definition of Black motherhood in scholarly terms. Her work is titled “Black Mothers: Understanding Their Lives – Centering Their Experiences” (2005).
Jenkins profoundly concludes: “Although there is no single meaning or given experience of motherhood (McMahon, 1995), women’s roles as mothers are idealized in our culture as all-loving, kind, gentle, and selfless (Andersen, p. 159). The very term ‘motherhood’ connotes a falsely static state of being rather than of a socially and historically variable relationship. According to Crittenden (2001), the very definition of a mother is selfless service to another. Maternal selflessness has endowed mothers with a unique moral authority
Based on my observations and upbringing, I truly believe my mom has found motherhood to be an empowering experience and a symbol of hope. Numerous Black mothers around the globe have likely come to similar conclusions in their mothering capabilities.
In a society that has traditionally pressed to strip Black mothers of their maternal identity, my mother has managed – with the help of the LORD – to reverse historical stereotypes placed on the Black mother while having a considerable effect on my siblings, countless others and me.
Demetrius Dillard is a North Carolina-based freelance writer. He can be contacted at demetriusd33@gmail.com.
