Othermother - Historical and Fictional Othermothers

Historical and Fictional Othermothers

As a member of not only the black population but also of the Northern, urban community, one might assume that Mamie Till Bradley partook in these othermother relations, which would explain her rise to social activism. Bradley publicly exposed her personal tragedy in order to mobilize outrage and a movement towards civil rights. As an othermother, Bradley saw the brutality and injustice enacted on her son, Emmett Till, not only as affecting her son, but all of the black children living during the time of the Jim Crow south. In a demonstration of her outrage, which sparked the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, Bradley acts as an othermother for the entire black activist community at this time.

Mrs. Rice acts as an othermother to Anne Moody in her memoir Coming of Age in Mississippi. Mrs. Rice, Moody’s homeroom teacher, patiently answers Moody’s questions concerning Emmett Till and the NAACP after slight apprehension. Despite the fact that informing a student about such controversial issues could cost her her job, Mrs. Rice invites Moody over for Sunday dinner where Moody spends hours with Mrs. Rice. By inviting Moody into a world of insight, Mrs. Rice provides Moody with a sense of community, which she has not truly experienced before. Not only does Mrs. Rice facilitate her student through knowledge, but she also indirectly helps all of the children of the neighborhood, or race, by recruiting a social activist who in later years risks her life for the advancement of the lives of her community.