Revisiting Black Motherhood From A (POST-)Modern Black Feminist Perspective

Motherhood is a universal experience, symbolizing life, kindness, unconditional love,tolerance, etc. In black culture, motherhood, enjoying high respect and much glorification,represents love and maturity. Though often discredited as “bad mother” and “unfit parent”，and labeled as “mammy”,“matriarch”,“black lady”,“welfare mother” and “hoochiemama” since the slavery time, black motherhood was naturally born with the elements ofblack feminism, and is being constantly deconstructed and reconstructed by blackfeminism.On the basis of the differentiation of such confusing terms as “Motherhood” and“Mothering”,“Black Feminism” and “Womanism”, the dissertation, first, examines blackmotherhood in different historical phases from ancient times in West Africa till moderntimes in America from a historical perspective, with a focus on the period when modernblack feminism came into existence. Following that, it goes on to explore the distinctivemothering models such as single mothering, othermothering, and lesbian mothering in theblack families from a literary perspective. Beyond that, it moves on to analyze differentchild socialization among stratified classes, and a few community-based voluntarysupports for child socialization such as church mothering, community mothering, mentormothering, and sorority mothering, from a socio-ecological perspective. Last but not least,the dissertation introduces and analyzes the latest form of black feminism-hip-hopfeminism, and tracks black motherhood in the hip-hop feminism by engaging therepresentative hip-hop music and movie with hip-hop feminist consciousness from a visualculture perspective.The dissertation concludes that, first, the reconstructed black motherhood, in moderntimes is hip-hop feminist mothering, referring to the extended selfhood and the empoweredactivism with motherwork as its essence; second, black motherhood and black feminismhave interactive and synergic relationships: they foster and nourish each other, andintegrate into each other to fashion the hip-hop feminist mothering–a true blackmotherhood at present.This project, though mainly from a modern black feminist perspective, employs multi-perspectives in its approach, such as historical, sociological, socio-ecological,literary, visual culture perspectives, and engages the fields of Feminist studies,Afro-American studies, American studies, in order to display a clear and complex pictureof the dynamic development of black motherhood, provide real insights into how itconfronts the patriarchy motherhood and has been redefined into a true modern blackmotherhood. The research gives voices to the oppressed regarding black motherhood, e.g.lesbian mothering, and tries to explore novel ways for empowerment, e.g. the erotic power.Besides, the rich but neglected resource of children’s literary works has been engaged inthe interrogation, which offers a fresh angle into the exploration and discussion of blackmotherhood.Just as Audre Lorde, the black lesbian feminist, argues that “the lessons of the blackmothers [are] in each of us”, the significance of revisiting the black motherhood not simplylies in the reconstruction, but in the inspiration to the pursuit of freedom, equality andhumanity as well.