In her groundbreaking and essential debut The Three Mothers, scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs celebrates Black motherhood by telling the story of the three women who raised and shaped some of America's most pivotal heroes: Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin.

Index.

Introduction -- Part I : the circumstances of our birth -- Part II : the denial of our existence -- Part III : our men and marriages -- Part IV : the birth of our children -- Part V : our trials, tribulations, and tragedies -- Part VI : loving our sons -- Part VII : losing our sons -- Part VIII : the circumstances of our death -- Conclusion : our lives will not be erased.