The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation

Write a piece of creative writing from the perspective of one of the three women, looking back over her life. Consider how this task alters your sense of empathy and understanding.

Analyze the role of the church in the experiences of the three women. Consider both faith-based elements and practical organizational elements. Was the church always a positive force?

Research women’s experiences during the Great Migration. In what ways do you see Alberta, Louise, and Berdis as representative of this collective experience?

What evidence does Tubbs use to support her book’s treatise? Analyze her use of evidenced argument versus her use of opinion/assertion.

In what ways did Alberta, Louise, and Berdis assert their individuality and identity within their marriages and in what ways did they conform? What do you identify from their choices as being relevant to (Black) women’s life choices today?

Choose a renowned Black figure and write a case study on how their upbringing and family background have shaped them, with a focus on their mother. How does this task change the way you view Tubbs’s book?

Do you think that Tubbs is successful in challenging and rebalancing the historical obscurity of Black women? Why or why not?

Read Wilfred Little’s account of his childhood. In what ways does it challenge or support Tubbs’s representation of Louise Little and her family? What do you think about this?