Abstract: This article and talk is based on the experiences of several women who were armed revolutionaries and also mothers. While scholars of revolutions in Latin America, Africa and Asia have considered motherhood and armed resistance, scholars of the U.S. have little to say on the topic. Certainly, motherhood during the Black Power movement has been examined by a number of scholars, specifically focusing on valuable topics such as welfare rights, reproductive rights, and birth control. Still, questions remain. How did women navigate being both revolutionaries and mothers? What did motherhood offer revolutionary women? And how their revolutionary posture shaped their conceptions of mothering? Drawing on archival documents of expecting mothers incarcerated for their revolutionary activity, I examine how women navigate motherhood while facing extreme levels of political repression.
Comments by: Dr. David Canton, African American Studies Program Director and Associate Professor of History, University of Florida
Speaker
Jasmin Young (Assistant Professor of History, UC-Riverside)