Every year, around January 15th, the world rightfully celebrates the birth of the great Martin Luther King Jr. Yet, virtually no one has stopped to consider who else was in that room that day in 1929. As if somehow MLK Jr. birthed himself.
每年的 1 月 15 号, 世界各地都在纪念伟大的 马丁·路德·金的生日。 但是从来没有人想过 1929 年 那一天在他出生的房间里还有谁。 感觉好像马丁·路德·金 自己生了自己。
(Laughter)
(笑声)
I toured the location where he was born. A charming, quaint two-story home in Atlanta. And while it was an honor to even be there, I left feeling frustrated by the tour guide's script. Of course, MLK Jr. was the center of most of the tales, and then came stories about his father, the inspiring Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. But what frustrated me was the lack of attention being paid to his mother, Alberta Christine Williams King. Even though this was actually her childhood home first and the home where she'd later birth her children, in a room on the second floor.
我曾经参观过他出生的房间, 是亚特兰大一座精致 又安静朴素的两层房屋。 虽然我很荣幸可以到访, 导游的说辞却让我觉得很不舒服。 马丁·罗德·金 是人们故事中的主角, 然后人们就说起了他父亲—— 鼓舞人心的老马丁· 路德·金牧师的故事。 但这却让我觉得很沮丧, 因为从没有人关注过他的母亲—— 艾伯塔·克里斯汀·威廉姆斯·金 (Alberta Christine Williams King)。 就算这个地方先是她小时候的家, 后来二楼的一间房 变成了她生孩子的地方。
This erasure doesn't only concern Alberta. Mothers in the US are often misrepresented or completely left out in the stories we tell. Mothers are used to being seen as selfless beings without needs for others to consider. They're used to feeling belittled if they stay at home with their children because the narrative says it's "unproductive." Or they might even hide the fact that they have children at work so that they're still taken seriously rather than seen as distracted. And they will not receive credit for the accomplishments of the loved ones they have supported day in and day out because our retelling of events doesn't feature the many acts of mothering.
不只是阿尔伯特被忽略, 美国的母亲们经常是被歪曲事实 或被故事遗漏的 “小角色”。 母亲们被理所应当地 定义成无私的形象, 不需要别人关心照顾。 她们习惯了在家 带孩子被贬低的生活, 被社会说成 “效率低下的轻松活”。 她们经常在工作中隐瞒母亲的身份, 只为被认真地对待, 而不是被视为注意力不集中。 而她们日日夜夜为家庭的付出 却从没得到正名, 因为所有的故事里 根本不会强调母亲做了些什么。
Beyond such instances being frustrating, I believe they lead to a lack of understanding surrounding the critical roles mothers play in our society, and they contribute to a lack of support for mothers. If the stories we tell, both on an interpersonal level as well as in literature and in media, deem mothers as unimportant, as unworthy of being seen and considered, then these opinions will be reflected in the way that mothers are treated in our country.
我认为这些令人烦恼的例子, 导致了社会对母亲们 角色的重要性缺乏认知, 对母亲们没有足够的支持。 如果我们所描述的故事, 在人际关系以及文学和媒体上 都在强调母亲是不重要的、 不值得被看见的、 不值得被考虑的, 我们的国家就会 真的这样对待母亲们。
It is not a surprise, then, that in the US we have yet to establish universal parental leave, a universal quality, affordable child care, that we are experiencing a maternal mortality crisis and that many mothers had no other choice but to leave the workforce as a result of the pandemic. Such tragedies have a ripple effect that also hurts our children, our communities, even our national economy.
所以这就没什么 可意外的了,在美国 我们仍然没有建立 统一的育儿假体制, 也没有优质的、 实惠的托儿所系统, 这直接导致一场 母亲育儿缺失的危机, 疫情让很多的母亲 不得不离开职场。 这样的不幸会牵连我们的孩子们、 我们的社区, 甚至是我们的全国经济。
As a writer and sociologist, I believe that storytelling plays a necessary role in fixing our current trajectory; that through the intentional centering of mothers, we can not only make life better for them, we can actually make life better for everyone. The way to get organizations and our government to give mothers the resources that they desperately need and deserve is to first shift our perspective of motherhood on a cultural level. I am on a mission for that shift to happen in my lifetime, especially for mothers of color who have historically received the least resources.
作为一个作家和社会学家, 我认为我们的故事和说辞 对修正我们现有的轨道至关重要, 只有有意地将母亲放到聚光灯下, 才能让她们的生活变得更好, 也能让所有人的生活有所改善。 我们能让组织和政府 给予母亲们急需 和应得的资源的方法 首先是改变文化层面 对母亲的看法。 有生之年, 我一直在等待这样的转机, 尤其是对于有色人种的母亲们, 因为从古至今她们 都只有最少的资源。
I have spent the last several years studying three women in particular, whose life stories show, number one, just how easily we disregard mothers, and number two, how a lack of consideration for their needs and their contributions leads to a lack of intervention and support. While it may be too late to help the three of them, I believe their life stories provide guidance on how we can make the world better for moms and everyone they impact today.
这些年我一直在研究三位女性。 她们的人生故事展示了: 第一,我们如何 轻易地忽视了母亲们; 第二, 缺乏对她们的需求和贡献的考虑 如何导致了干预和支持的缺失。 虽然帮助这三位女性已经为时太晚, 她们的人生故事可以指引我们 如何让世界对母亲们和 深受她们影响的人更美好。
So let's first go back to Alberta King. Alberta was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1903, to the leaders of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Even as a young girl, she was an activist. She participated in marches and boycotts, and she even joined her parents as some of the very first members of the NAACP. She believed that Christian faith must always be intertwined with social justice, and she used her education to advance freedom causes. Alberta grew up to be a talented organizer and a musician, as well as a mother of three. Before meeting her husband, Alberta was on her path to becoming an educator. She earned a teaching certificate and a bachelor's degree. But because the law stated that married women could not teach, she was forced to walk away from a formal career. She still did everything she could to provide for, educate and protect her family and her community members. But that same care and shielding was not afforded to her in return. Her life was tragically taken when she was shot in the back as she played the church organ.
我们先回到艾伯塔·克里斯汀· 威廉姆斯·金的故事。 艾伯塔 1903 年出生于 佐治亚州亚特兰大, 她的父母是埃比尼泽(Ebenezer) 浸信会教堂的领袖。 从小,她就是一个活跃分子, 参加过很多的游行和抵制活动, 她追随父母,成为最早加入 美国全国有色人种协进会 (NAACP)的一员。 她深信基督教和 社会正义是相连的, 她利用她的知识推进了自由主义。 艾伯塔长大后成为了一位 出色的组织者和音乐家。 也成为了三个孩子的妈妈。 在认识她丈夫之前, 艾伯塔正在努力成为一个教育者。 她考取了教师证和本科学历。 由于当时的法律规定 已婚妇女不能任教, 她被迫放弃了正式的工作。 但她依旧倾尽全力去帮助、 传授、保护她的家人和社区成员。 很遗憾,她的付出并没有 为她换来同样的关爱和保护。 一次在演奏教堂风琴时, 她不幸从背后被人枪杀。
The second story begins in La Digue Grenada, at the very end of the 19th century. A little girl is influenced by her grandparents to always stand for Black pride and Black independence by any means necessary. At the young age of 17, she travels to Montreal, Canada, on her own, to spread the message of Black liberation. And she joins the Marcus Garvey pan-African movement. This is just a brief introduction to Louise Langdon Little, a multilingual scholar and activist who also brought eight children into the world, one of whom was named Malcolm Little originally. He later became known to the world as Malcolm X. When Louise's husband was murdered and she was widowed when she was only in her 30s, white welfare workers started showing up and entering her home, questioning the way that she was raising her children. A white male physician was sent to evaluate her, and he concluded that she was experiencing dementia, citing that she was "imagining being discriminated against."
第二个故事来自 19 世纪末期的 拉·迪格·格林纳达 (La Digue Grenada)。 这个小女孩受到她祖父母的影响, 用不同的方法支持 黑人的尊严和独立。 17 岁那年, 她为宣传黑人自由, 孤身前往了加拿大蒙特利尔。 她加入了 马库斯·加维 (Marcus Garvey)的泛非运动。 这只是对路易丝·利特尔 (Louise Langdon Little) 一个简单的介绍, 她不仅仅是一名多语种学者 和社会活动家, 还是八个孩子的母亲。 其中一个本名为 马尔科姆·利特尔(Malcolm Little), 也就是大家所知的马尔科姆·X(Malcolm X)。 路易丝 30 多岁的时候, 丈夫被人杀害,当了寡妇。 白人福利工作者开始出入她的家, 质问她养孩子的方法。 一名白人医生被叫来为她诊断, 他声称她患有精神错乱, 有被歧视妄想症。
(Audience murmurs)
(观众低语)
As a result, she was institutionalized against her will for around 25 years. Each of her children were taken from her and they were placed into separate foster homes.
因此她被强行关进了精神病院, 关了大约 25 年。 她的八个孩子被抢走, 送往不同的寄养家庭。
The final story starts in the small town of Deal Island, Maryland, in 1902.
最后的故事来自 1902 年
A little girl's life begins in tragedy when she loses her own mother. But through this moment of darkness, she becomes somebody fixated on light and on love. A talented writer, she uses her prose to inspire those around her to let go of their own pain and their hatred. As a teenager, she travels to New York in search of a new start, and she arrives in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance. This is just a brief introduction to Berdis Jones Baldwin, a mother of nine. Her first born was originally named James Arthur Jones. He later became known to the world as James Baldwin. At times, Berdis had no other choice but to leave her children at home to make money as a domestic worker. She was also the victim of an abusive husband for years. Without resources other than police officers, who were better known for harassing her community, she endured the pain on her own. When her husband passed, and she too was only in her thirties, she proudly raised her nine children as a single mother.
马里兰州的一个小城市, 迪尔岛(Deal Island)。 一个小女孩人生悲剧 从失去她的母亲开始。 但在这段黑暗的时光, 她学会了关注光明和爱。 作为一名出色的作家, 她用她的散文影响身边的人, 让他们放下痛苦,放下仇恨。 在她还在青春期的时候, 她为了全新的开始前往了纽约, 加入了当时进行中的 哈莱姆文艺复兴 (Harlem Renaissance)。 这位就是伯迪斯·琼斯·鲍德温 (Berdis Jones Baldwin), 也是九个孩子的妈妈的简介。 她的长子本名为詹姆斯·阿瑟·琼斯 (James Arthur Jones), 也是大家后来熟知的詹姆斯·鲍德温 (James Baldwin)。 她不得不把孩子留在家里 出门当家庭佣人赚钱。 同时她多年来饱受丈夫的毒打。 她除了警察没有别的资源, 而警察只会骚扰人民, 所以她只能忍气吞声。 她成为寡妇的那年也才 30 多岁, 但她作为一名单亲母亲 倾尽全力养大孩子。
These stories are not a part of ancient history, nor should they be seen as separate of other mothers simply because their sons became famous. They are representative of mothers' experiences, especially Black mothers, who, to this day, are disrespected, denied paid leave, pushed out of their jobs, facing biases in health care systems, are victims of abuse, are mistreated and belittled, and who are being forgotten and erased. Would the world be different today, if we'd been telling their stories all along? I believe so. If the stories we told of mothers reflected their presence, their importance, their power, their influence, their wholeness and their humanity, then it would be easier for everyone to appreciate their roles and back them with the support that they deserve.
这些故事并不是古老的历史, 也不该因为她们的儿子很出名, 而另眼相看她们。 她们代表了所有母亲的亲身经历, 尤其是黑人母亲, 她们至今为止都被歧视、 拒绝带薪休假、辞退, 她们在医疗系统饱受歧视、 饱受虐待、 也经常被贬低、 遗忘和抹除。 这个世界会因为我们 一直讲她们的故事而改变吗? 我觉得会。 如果我们的故事 能展现母亲的存在、 重要性、力量、影响、 完整性和人性, 全世界才能更容易 感恩她们的付出, 给予她们应得的支持。
So let's act now. How about we stop thanking mothers for being selfless and putting their needs behind everyone else's?
所以我们现在就行动吧。 我们不要再感谢 母亲们的自我牺牲, 不要再忽视她们的需求如何?
(Applause)
(掌声)
And instead, we thank them for being our first leaders, caretakers and teachers. What if we asked how we could support them in return?
相反, 我们应该感谢她们 成为我们的第一位引路人、 看护人和老师。 我们应该问问她们, 作为回报,应该如何支持她们。
(Applause)
(掌声)
Yeah.
嗯。
(Applause)
(掌声)
What if we celebrated stay-at-home moms as the essential members of our society that they are rather than belittling their role?
如果我们宣扬全职妈妈 在社会的重要性 而不是贬低她们的工作呢?
(Applause)
(掌声)
What if employers and colleagues recognize mothering as the ultimate test of multitasking, organization and empathy?
如果我们的上司和同事 能意识到母亲的工作 是处理多项任务、 组织力和同理心的终极体现呢?
(Laughs)
(笑声)
(Applause)
(鼓掌)
And highlighted the importance of keeping mothers on their teams. And what if we produced more stories, books, TV shows, movies that represented mothers accurately? Could we convince more people of the need for parental leave, affordable child care, unbiased health care systems, maybe even a guaranteed income?
并强调让母亲留在团队中的重要性? 如果我们制作更多的故事、 书籍、电视剧和电影 来准确地表现母亲呢? 我们可不可以说服更多的人 来支持育儿假、 实惠的托儿机构、 公正的医疗系统 和有保障的工资呢?
I think we can all agree. Mothers are essential. Mothers are powerful. Mothers have their own needs and their own identities. Mothers deserve support. It is time our stories and our policies reflect this. We can change the narrative. And when we do, the world will be a much better and equitable place for us all.
我想我们都同意。 母亲们很重要。 母亲们很强大。 母亲们有自己的需求和个性。 母亲们值得被支持。 是时候用我们的故事 和政策来反映这些。 我们可以改变原来的故事。 改变以后, 这个世界会对大家都是个 更美好、更平等的地方。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause and cheers)
(掌声、欢呼声)