OPINION: Honoring our persistently dreaming, praying Black mothers

By Ivory Phillips

JA Contributing Editor

As we celebrate Mother’s Day 2026, there is hardly a Black person alive who is not aware of the dream of her/his mother that she or he live to experience freedom from racial oppression. It has been a dominant prayer, hope, and dream here and abroad as it relates to the Black experiences of slavery, Jim Crow, colonial occupation, and neo-colonial manipulation.

It is more than ironic this edition of the JACKSON ADVOCATE newspaper spreads across the anniversary of the birthdate of John Brown (May 9), the inauguration of Nelson Mandela (May 10), and the death of Bob Marley (May 11). Each of these individuals was important as an advocate for the freedom long dreamed of by our Black mothers.

John Brown stands out as a white man who willingly risked his life in efforts to bring an end to the enslavement of African people in the United States of America. He in fact was sentenced to death and hanged after leading anti-slavery raids in Kansas and Virginia. 

Bob Marley stands out as a Black man who gained world-wide notoriety as a reggae musician and used his music as an instrument to fight against neo-colonialism in Jamaica and the Caribbean region. 

Nelson Mandela stands out as a Black man who spent years as a South African freedom fighter with the African National Congress and more than two decades in prison for those actions. He was eventually freed and elected president of South Africa.

All three men are today considered as heroes in the struggle for Black freedom. They are men whom we can honor as we reflect on the dreams and the continuous prayers of the Black mothers that we remember today. In some ways they were the answers to the prayers.

On the one hand, without the actions of heroes such as Brown, Marley, and Mandela, Black people in Africa and the rest of the world would perhaps be in far worse straits than they are today. On the other hand, without the dreams, the prayers, the lives, and the continuing inspiration of our mothers, there would have been no John Browns, Bob Marleys, or Nelson Mandelas.

It is true that in many ways and in many places things appear bleak and many ask, “where are the Browns, Marleys, and Mandelas today?” That is a legitimate question. Yet, the answer is not to be lost or remain hidden. If we keep the faith and keep up the fight, as did our mothers, we will be able to discover, grow, and groom contemporary heroes and heroines. As that happens, it will be necessary to support and surround them, lest they just remain would-be heroes and heroines, only whistling in the wind, or worse still, they get cut down as did Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Vernon Dahmer.

With those thoughts in mind, we honor our mothers and remember our heroes and heroines; wishing you and yours a happy and fruitful Mother’s Day.