I am a single, successful black mother and damn proud of it. I have observed a familiar trend demonstrated repeatedly by society as far as ‘understanding’ black motherhood. For hundreds of years black women provided the manpower and nursed the babies as slaves who built this country. For all the uterine contributions of the black slave woman, America has never acknowledged this fact as an asset.
In film we see an Oscar awarded to Halle Berry in ‘Monster’s Ball.’ Ms. Berry plays a black mother who physically and verbally abuses her son who is overweight. Halle’s disdain for her son was evident. Berry’s role portrayed black mothers as being dysfunctional. We will never forget Ms. Berry giving Bill Bob Thornton fellacio – or the very explicit sex scenes, where Berry wanted to “Feel Again!” Ms. Berry is a black single mother in “Losing Isaiah” in 1995; this film was about black motherhood empowerment, and Oscar worthy.
Mr. Lee Daniels directed Ms. Berry in “Monster’s Ball”; “Precious”, a new film released November 2009 is another film on single black motherhood, also directed by Mr. Daniels. I clamored to see this film; I was inspired after reading Push by Sapphire twice. Sapphire wrote Push in 1996, a brutal look into black single motherhood. At the same time, Push is empowering as Precious learns to read and write; her world changes. This movie is supported by both Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry’s production companies. I was one of seven blacks in a predominately white audience at the Jacob Burns Film Center.
I also had the opportunity to meet Mr. Daniels, an African American gay man who was also raised by a single mother. Mr. Daniels’ father died leaving Lee’s mother to raise the children with Lee being the oldest at age 12 and recalls physical abuse in his home while growing up. I was able to garner information listening to Mr. Daniels speak in his bemused awe of his success:
• “Hollywood does not want to see these kinds of films up here on screen. I shot this movie and I was ready for it to go straight to DVD.”
• “Push the novel is very sexual – I had to watch what I used from the book, otherwise the movie would have never been shown.”
• “I got a call from Oprah because Tyler Perry called her. She asked me: ‘What can we do to help you?’”
• “I have been after Sapphire for years to let me do her book as a film.”
• “Racism is over in America.”
I thought about the book Push – I read it twice. Society does ‘push’ our black students to the side. Precious believed she was doing well in school despite having a reading level below second grade. Precious stated: “I got an A in my class for just sitting there and keeping my mouth shut.” Precious could not open her math textbook because she could not read the page numbers. She passed that class also.
Daniels referred to Push as being very sexual (it is); he could not put the intense sex in the film otherwise, it would not have been shown. I can still visualize Berry’s sex scenes with Thornton in “Monster’s Ball.”
Daniels stated: “Hollywood does not want to see this kind of film” On the contrary, I was one of seven blacks in an all white audience that voyeuristically pulled back the curtain of the black family and avidly watched a single black mother abuse, neglect and destroy her child. I do see Hollywood’s acceptance; I do see every white person who left that theatre after viewing this film believing they ‘know’ black families. I do believe the impact of this film places black single motherhood with a negative distinction of being permanently dysfunctional.
There have been other movies made showing empowerment in white single motherhood: Norma Rae, Mask, Erin Brockovich and Silkwood. There are also a few movies made showing black motherhood empowerment, although this message is not direct, but oblique. “A Secret Life of Bees and American Violet”, which show black mothers as head of household in a home that, is stable and nurturing with feminine unity. These films go by silently and receive almost no publicity, no celebrity endorsements and are challenging to see in a theatre or to own once released as a DVD.
“American Violet” was shown in a limited amount of theatres - a film about the unjust law system: a black single mother almost loses her life and her children by being falsely accused and pressured to plea bargain – a very lucrative business in the USA. This empowered single black mother was brutally judged by white men – representing society about her having multiple children for different men – no husband. The very same act black women were forced to do under slavery.
Black motherhood is not always in a state of dysfunction. There are many black single mothers both past and present that have successfully raised their children – Mr. Daniels is one of them. Many magazines have celebrity single mothers post articles and columns and yet the ‘average’ black single mother is invisible.
Go see the movie “Precious”; ask yourself about Push. How many films are made depicting black mother empowerment and success? The message is very clear: it’s hypocrisy to all of the self esteem building programs for girls of color when Hollywood only shows black women portrayed as being dysfunctional. Daniels said racism in America is over, I don’t believe it is. Mr. Daniels is very talented at what he does but is black single motherhood the sacrificial lamb of cinema projects? The fallout from the fascination of viewing black motherhood as being dysfunctional is a high price to pay – Is the little gold statue is worth it?
©Lion’s Way, Inc. 2009
