As Mother's Day draws near I reach for a little book given to me by my dear friend, Mira.
My Mother Had a Dream: African-American Women Share Their Mothers' Words of Wisdom.
Sojourner Truth, daughter of Elizabeth Mau-Mau Bett Baumfree. Activist. From her address "Ain't I a Woman?"
I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me - and ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children and seen 'em mos' all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?
Anita Doreen Diggs, daughter of Gladys Haigler-Smith. Author of Talking Drums and Success at Work.
Get a good education because knowledge is power, and once you have it, no one can take it away.
Anna Julia Cooper, daughter of Hannah Stanley. Activist and educator. From A Voice from the South.
Woman, Mother - your responsibility is one that might make angels tremble and fear to take hold!
Maya Angelou, daughter of Vivian Baxter, Educator and author. From My Soul Looks Back. 'Less I Forget.
Africa is herself a mother. The mother of mankind. We Africans take motherhood as the most sacred condition human beings can achieve.
Alice Walker, daughter of Minnie Tallulah Grant Walker. Author from In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens.
And for the three magic gifts I needed to escape the poverty of my hometown, I thank my mother, who gave me a sewing machine, a typewriter, and a suitcase ...
Rosa Parks, daughter of Leona McCauley. Activist. From I Dream a World.
My mother believed in freedom and equality even though we didn't know it for reality during our life in Alabama.
Marian Wright Edelman, daughter of Maggie Leola Wright. President, Children's Defense Fund. From Measure of our Success.
Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or build a decent family or help you sleep at night.
Dora J. Wilkenfeld, daughter of Marilyn Nelson Waniek. Nine years old and brilliant!
Mama always said, "Always remember these words of wisdom which I am about to impart to you, my dear ..." and then she started snoring!
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And this one I heard from Oprah Winfrey:
They can lift your heart and shatter your nerves, make you push the hair out of your eyes, and eat broccoli.
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY USA ...
... Tamarika said that ....
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