For nearly 20 years, I worked almost exclusively for women and their families which means I spent my time working for our entire community, including the men in our lives. Many women do as much as I do or more. Yet we’re not always the first to be mentioned as worthy of honor on a regular basis. Often men come to be rightly celebrated for their achievements, but with no mention of the role mothers play in helping them to become who they are.
When we come to Women’s History Month, many people forget the need to celebrate them. Yet, all year there seems to be, as Dick Gregory would say, goo gobs of men celebrated. There’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and former presidents, (I won’t name them because some deserve no recognition!). There’s not a single woman celebrated annually with a federal holiday. Some of us have proposed one for Mother Rosa Parks and we should all want to make that happen!
While we’re working to make just one woman have the honor of a federal holiday, why don’t we celebrate our own mothers on their birthday? I’m starting with mine who made her transition a little over two years ago. Her name is Frances LaCour Williams and her 101st birthday is Nov. 10. My family and I will celebrate her birthday, and we urge you to remember your mother by celebrating hers. Just think of how many times at least one woman will be celebrated every day!
We don’t have to wait for Congress to act to give us just one day of celebrating women, nor do we have to wait for the nationally declared Mother’s Day that was made to happen on a Sunday so that we get no holiday as we have on so many other occasions that just happen to be all males. I want more celebrations of those who are our mothers. On our mother’s birthday, we can start learning more about women while starting with our own. There are so many women who’ve accomplished so much, but their stories are never told. We can tell those stories for them, and the world will be better for knowing them.
A male friend often says, “If you want to get a job done, give it to a woman; if you really want to get it done well, give it to a Black woman.” Let’s invite our brothers to be a part of this celebration of their mothers, too.
Many of us believe as Dr. George W. Carver did when he said, “It’s not the kind of clothing we wear, nor the kind of car we drive, nor how much money we have in the bank—it’s simply our service that measures our success.” By that formula, even women who aren’t mothers deserve a celebration not just in May, but every day! I propose that every day is Mother’s Day because it’s some mother’s birthday. Dr. Dorothy Height said, “Black women don’t always get to do what we want to do, but always do what we have to do.”
Let’s tell the story of at least one woman every day. My favorite woman is my mother, Mrs. Frances Lacour Williams. She left us after 99 years, while still advising her children, grands, great-grands and great-great-grands! She reared nine children without the benefit of our father in our home when all of us were under 12. We always knew we were loved. We never went hungry, or without proper clothing, while getting to school every day — rain, shine, sleet or snow.
Among the many women I cherish are Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Dr. Lezli Baskerville, Nia 2X, Judge Doris Smith-Ribner, Melanie Greene, and Dr. Stephanie Myers. Celebrate an amazing woman on her birthday!
Williams is president of The Dick Gregory Society (www.thedickgregorysociety.org).