Beyond the Binary: The Many Hands of May

Most Mother’s Day cards are written for a world of "one." One mother, one bond, one uncomplicated story. But my life has always been a story of "many." Before I reached the arms of the mother who raised me, I was held by Helen, my mother of origin. Next, a foster mother held and looked after me. For those first few precious months, she was the steward of my safety. When it was time for me to leave, she didn't simply hand me over; she left detailed notes of my routine and wrote in those notes that I was very hard to give up.

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In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption by Rhonda M. Roorda

Roorda interviews Black Americans across generations—including those who lived through Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era. A major theme of this book isn't just about the person who gives birth; it’s about the "other-mothers" in the Black community who feel a collective responsibility to help transracial adoptees navigate a racialized world.

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Mamie Till-Mobley and the Radical Excellence of Motherhood

When we discuss "Black Excellence," we often gravitate toward the glittering milestones: the firsts, the founders, and the record-breakers. But there is a more profound, more harrowing form of excellence that exists in the marrow of motherhood. It is the excellence of transmutation—the ability to take a world-shattering tragedy and forge it into a weapon for justice.

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