Understanding our Black Mothers:- Interview

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/17F2vZn5-rh3kyTBKpquBnLyX-qQ4gu6z/view?usp=sharing


Kaileah Calloway 

Dr. Harris 

ENGL 2016

11/25/25

Understanding our Black Mothers:



Motherhood is a concept that all women are born for, as a woman's body grows and prepares for motherhood at an early age. Motherhood is something most look forward to. Imagine growing up wanting to have a family of your own — a husband, a porch, and two lively kids playing in your yard. Suddenly, you have to divorce and are left with the responsibilities of the household and the upbringing of your children. Now imagine that society tells you that your children are not going to be successful, all because of you. You are a single black mother fighting for your children to have a chance.


This project was done in the form of an interview using the text Native Son by Richard Wright and the Moynihan Report, which blamed black mothers for the downfall of African Americans. These excerpts were used as background and focal point for the interview. After reading these excerpts, the volunteer was then asked this series of questions: What was prominent in society when you were raising your children? Did your children grow up in a two-parent household? If not, how do you believe this affected their lives now and during childhood? Do you feel you needed a man to raise your children? Thinking about your sons, do you believe you had a positive impact on them becoming a "man" or reaching "manhood"? Did having their father around them benefit them in becoming a "man"? Thinking of your daughters, did you raise them in your image? Did you instill independence in them, and do you believe this affected their relationships with men they deal with today? What did you have to protect your children from? The person I chose to interview was my great-grandmother, who was born in 1938, going through a series of events like growing up during the great depression and World War II, to having her first child in 1956, which was when the Montgomery bus boycott happened, are all key events that would have an impact on the answers she would provide. All of my great-grandmother's children were growing up during pivotal times of black history movements, giving my great-grandmother a surplus of things to consider. She is now a widow, and I feel her answers and ideas will give a better understanding of the topics discussed in my black history literature class.


The answers provided showed that needing a man is circumstantial. Willie Gavin helped me realize that in some cases, the man is needed; however, it depends on the person's personal life. She mentioned that some female-headed families were the way they were because the husband had passed in the war or that he died from natural causes, so the woman had no choice but to raise her family on her own. This was a perspective the class had not addressed. Dealing with moderate racism and segregation in her neighborhood had an impact on how she raised her children because there wasn’t much need for fear. Ms. Gavin also explains how she felt the man was important in helping the family and teaching the boys how to be men. Ms. Gavin helped me understand our black mothers, and I thank her for her participation. 

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