An Invitation to Join our Village
Photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash
This vision has been a long time coming. It’s around the one year anniversary of when I first introduced this vision to a group of single mothers. We got together & discussed the unique challenges and triumphs of being a single mother. We talked about how we learned creative survival strategies in the face of ongoing stress & adversity rooted in structural oppression. We talked about our mental health as mothers and how difficult, painful motherhood can feel at times, especially when doing it in isolation. We talked about how much we love being mothers and how our child(ren) are our pride and joy. We dreamed of ways we could build a future world where all of our children could be free, well, & prosperous.
One of the primary areas of grief that was named in single motherhood experience is rooted in mothering in isolation which stems from living in a fragmented society. This is a result of complex factors like the cultural notions of hyper-individualism, effects of COVID-19, and the ways structural oppression has destabilized Black & Indigenous family systems. We talked about is how this journey of single parenthood can make us very self-reliant. We discussed how we’ve learned to find safety in doing it all on our own because it’s what feels most familiar and “safe” even when it has compromised our health & the health of the family system. This protective response is a result of complex factors like adapting to fear-based societal/familial conditions, trauma/stress, and conditioning. We have lost sight and connection with the ways that have sustained, kept us, and healed us - living in and sharing in community. We understand being overly self-reliant and hyper-independent is not sustainable or reflective of the world we want our children to grow up in. We want our children to know our wealth is based on the power of community. We want our children to know that liberation is rooted in the WE.
Alberta’s Homeplace believes that creating new & loving worlds for our children is dependent on all of us. The concept of “Revolutionary Mothering” suggests that we all have the capacity to access our inner nurturer/mother to birth new & just worlds into being. Mothering should not be done in isolation - it takes a village -an ecovillage.
We would love for you to join our village at Alberta’s Homeplace to see this vision come to fruition! Ways you can help:
Join us! Let’s dream & build together- the next holding circle for single mothers will be Sunday, August 13th at 3:00 in Durham, NC. This is open to be an intergenerational space. RSVP at motheringatalbertas@gmail.com
Invest in our short term goals: Donate to programming needs, materials/supplies, & operational costs
Donate your skills/time (visual storytelling, environmental, legal, fundraising, etc.)
Donate to our long-term land/housing goals
Please share and spread the news!
Resources:
Revolutionary Mothering: Edited by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, China Martens and Mai’a Williams