Black Feminist Mothering in 21st Century Literature

Black feminist mothering can birth new worlds. And as today's world becomes increasingly hostile-with the rising cost of food coupled with global warming's devastating impact-we are in need of a feminism bold enough to imagine new pathways for survival. Black feminist mothering may well bethe remedy. The volume positions Black feminist mothering as much more than abiological or caregiving role. Building on key Black feminist tenets, Carr examines Black women's maternal labors asa practice andproclamationformothering ourselves, tending to each other, and nourishing our communities. Far too often, Black women's maternal, intellectual, and political labors are recognized only in service to white supremacist capitalism. Mammy. Breeder. Welfare queen. This text counters these dehumanizing iconographies,to focusinstead on the Black maternal'simaginitive possibilities. Not only does Carr address Black women'sresistance to white supremacist power plays, but she also attends to Black heteropatriarchy and the burdens racial solidarity imposes on Black women. The Black maternal, Carr argues, is a cradle for Black revolution. As Assata Shakur famously declared, "We are pregnant with freedom."