Amazon.com Review
Kristin Clark Taylor is a former senior White House advisor, corporate public relations executive, journalist, and author of
The First to Speak: A Woman of Color Inside the White House. In
Black Mothers, she has produced a beautiful book honoring the love and longevity of African American mothers. It contains intimate photographs and quotes from a host of writers, poets, and celebrities such as Toni Morrison, Marian Wright Edelman, Johnnie Cochran, Maya Angelou, Sonia Sanchez, and Gloria Naylor. "Black mothers leave a legacy of strength and sustenance for their children," she writes. "It is part of who we are, and who our foremothers were. If we listen very closely, we can still hear their words of wisdom." Taylor unveils the full spectrum of black motherhood in nine chapters: Giver of Life, Spiritual Anchor, Powerful Protector, Comforter and Friend, Wise Teacher, Living Surrogate, Image of Beauty, Disciplinarian, and Keeper of the Flame. These chapters offer soul-stirring images: mothers nursing their babies, reading to and educating their children, and preparing meals for the family. The book also features African American folklore and anonymous sayings such as "I brought you into this world, child. And Lord knows I can take you out," and "What are the most frightening words in the English language when they come from Mama's mouth? Go out and get me a switch!" The book's overall theme is the ancestral debt the African American community owes to these women for maintaining its very existence from slavery to freedom. Maya Angelou put it best: "I lay down in my grave and watch my children grow proud blooms above the weeds of death."
--Eugene Holley Jr.
From Booklist
Taylor, a former
USA Today editor, White House secretary and speechwriter, corporate communications officer, and vice-president of external affairs, has written her second book. This book "celebrates and glorifies black mothers everywhere." The 10 inspiring chapters on motherhood cover the gamut from their roles as givers of life, spiritual anchors, protectors, comforters and friends, teachers, surrogates, and disciplinarians to keepers of the flame. The chapters are complete with Bible verses, quotes from famous African Americans, poems, and revelations from friends. In the spirit of the book
Sisters (1994), these "songs" live up to Taylor's introduction because they celebrate black motherhood in a way that all women can treasure.
Lillian Lewis
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