Black moms are gifts from God and deserved to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Unfortunately, they are not always portrayed with such grace in mainstream media. Luckily, there are many Black creatives who have held up the mantle to ensure that Black mothers get their shine and have the opportunity to be shown with the same complexities that other mothers have as well on the big and small screen.
Whether spending time with your mother or looking for a moment to reflect on the love you share with her, check out 5 films that beautifully illustrate the bond between a Black mom and her children.
In Our Mother's Garden
Black mothers across the globe are the backbone of the African diaspora. It is through their existences that traditions are maintained and some of the purest examples of love are felt. In Our Mother's Garden explores the layered yet spiritual dynamics between multiple sets of mothers and their daughters, and how they fill their cups.
Dear Mama
Tupac Shakur' and his relationship with his mother Afeni is one of the most iconic in hip hop culture. This bond can be witnessed in one of his most popular songs, "Dear Mama." Through the docuseries Dear Mama, the revolutionary love and spirit pressed upon the legendary rapper by way of his mother lives on in their legacy and life's story.
Eve's Bayou
Eve's Bayou, in many ways, is a coming-of age film in which a daughter has to reckon with who her parents are as individuals. Within the storyline, Eve—the youngest child in the film—not only questions and re-interprets her relationship with her biological mother but the mother figures around her such as her Aunt Mozelle.
Hidden Figures
This film is dynamic for so many reasons. It showed that Black women—Black mothers, especially—could be equally as capable as living their dreams and achieving astronomical heights despite the odds.
Crooklyn
Motherhood is no easy feat for those who choose it, and the journey looks so different for each family dynamic. Crooklyn, one of Spike Lee's most notable works—which was co-written by his brother, Cinqué, and his sister, Joie—focuses on a family that must deal with the importance of their matriarch in each member's lives once she has passed on.
