By Megan Jungwi

A  mother’s love knows no bounds - and Nabila Nazli’s story exemplifies the saying perfectly. In November 2006, Nabila’s New York apartment caught on fire. Inside the flaming apartment were Nabila’s five children - including her 4-week-old twin sons and her five year old daughter. She managed to save all five of her children while sustaining second degree burns to her own body.

As flames consumed Nabila’s apartment, neighbors raced to her aid but could not get into the building. Her second-story apartment window, 20 feet above the ground, made escape difficult. However, her neighbors did not give up on the family and were able to stretch out a quilt as a makeshift net in which to catch Nabila’s children. Four of the children safely dropped into the quilt and escaped the fire. Nabila dropped her month old twin boys into the net one by one; then helped her older children - aged four and ten - jump out of the window.

However, Nabila’s five year old daughter, Nimrah, was too afraid to jump. Ignoring the pleas of her neighbors, Nabila refused to leave her daughter behind. Closing the door to her bedroom, Nabila was able to keep the flames at bay a little longer. Firefighters eventually found the mother lying unconscious from smoke inhalation, cradling her also unconscious daughter. One firefighter handed Nimrah to a colleague to carry down the ladder at the window, while other firefighters carried Nabila down the stairs.

The fire burned quickly and was out within an hour. Nine firemen suffered minor injuries while taking the fire down. Nabila, however, suffered severe burns, requiring skin graft surgery and months of hospitalization. The apartment was decimated and few of their possessions made it through. Yet all of Nabila’s children survived - and that is what matters most to a mother. 

The movie Backdraft features firefighters in action.

By Khyria Cepe

Who would have thought that someone who grew up surrounded by drugs and violence could someday be nominated as the United States’ first Latina Supreme Court Justice?

Sonia Sotomayor has gone from the South Bronx housing project where she grew up to the hallowed halls of the U.S. Supreme Court. Everyone is struck with awe and pride at what she has now achieved. President Barrack Obama, whose confidence in her capabilities won her the nomination, isn’t the only person to help her get where she is now. Sonia’s mother, Celina Sotomayor, dedicated her life to her children. She ensured that Sonia and her brother Juan received the best education and upbringing she could provide.  Juan became a doctor in Syracuse and Sonia became a successful lawyer.

In a heartfelt acknowledgement of her mother’s sacrifices for her, Sonia Sotomayor was quoted as saying, “I have often said that I am all that I am because of her, and I am only half the woman she is.”[1]

Celina Sotomayor never had an easy life for herself. After her mother’s death, Celina’s father left the family, leaving her an orphan at nine years old. Even at such a young age, Celina understood the value of education, and she strived to gain as much knowledge as she could. At 17, she became a member of the Women’s Army Corps of the U.S. Army, where she trained to become a telephone operator in Georgia.  Her hardships did not end there. She eventually married but had to handle the death of her husband. Alone, she juggled two jobs to support her two young kids. Her belief in the promise of good education drove her to work hard to send her children to a Catholic school.

Now at age 82, Celina has reaped the fruits of all the hard work and sacrifice that she went through on her own to raise her children. With a daughter in the U.S. Supreme Court and a son who is a doctor, one can truly say that Celina was an exemplary mother that should serve as an inspiration to many others.

By Dana Plazyk

Dr. Donda West had a great investment in higher education, having devoted 31 years of her life to teaching and improving the chances of  high school students to graduate.  In 2007, along with her son, renown hip-hop artist Kanye West, she co-f0unded The Kanye West Foundation, which was established to “help combat the severe dropout problem in high schools across the country.”

Her untimely death did not stop the realization of this dream, as Kanye West continues to fulfill it. Through the foundation’s “Loop Dreams” initiative, Kaney has set forth to establish production companies within high schools.  Their purpose is to create an interest on what exists beyond the popularity of hip-hop, by challenging students to delve into other aspects of music, from creative to managerial, while developing the necessary skills to empower themselves for their future.  And staying in school is all a part of it.

The Kanye West Foundation has also launched a series of benefit concerts, “Stay in School Concerts,” which blends community and corporate involvement to achieve the common goal of improving the length that students stay in school, especially in impoverished   or high-crime areas.  The first one had taken place in 2007 shortly before Dr. West’s death.  The second one, was to be memorable.

Last December, two other mothers come into the story.   As Wendy Abrams drives her son David to school, a segment on WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio, features a story of a student at Robeson High School, Mykelle Wheeler,  who is failing his grades.  His mother, Dorothy Wheeler, thinks of offering Mykelle two tickets to a Lil Wayne concert as a reward for getting  better grades and not skipping class.   This was a moment of inspiration for David Abrams who thinks a free concert might be a good motivation for students to do better.  He tells his mother who encourages him to try. 

In a short period of time, David Abrams and friend Zak Harris organize students from New Trier and Highland Park high schools and form SHOW (Students Helping Our World) to take on the challenge, eventually getting the support of Chicago’s Mayor Daley, former quarterback of the Chicago Bears Kyle Orton and  Chicago Public Schools, who name six possible schools to be involved in the project.  SHOW members formulate the guidelines   students must   adhere to in order to qualify for the free concert tickets , including showing marked improvement in grades, attitude and attendance.  The ultimate part of the puzzle:  The Kanye West Foundation.

On June 12, 2009, three thousand students attend Kanye West’s concert at the Chicago Theatre after receiving free tickets.  A testament to the power of conviction and the fulfillment of a wish that came true on many levels for all involved—including that of those three mothers.

By Megan Jungwi

Mary Thomas is best known for the success of her NBA playing son Isiah Thomas. However her real success was in raising nine children single handedly in one of the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods of Chicago. She was relentless in protecting her children from the drugs, gangs and violence in the area.

As the 1989 movie A Mother’s Courage: The Mary Thomas Story (produced and directed by Lanai Chapman)  famously depicts, Mary Thomas did everything within her power to keep her children safe. One day, when her youngest child, Isiah, was 12 years old, members of the Vice Lords came to her home demanding her seven sons join their gang. Mary would have none of it and fetched her sawed-off shotgun from her bedroom. She successfully asked the gang to move along.

Mary Thomas was determined to provide her children with the best environment she could. Although her children sometimes had to sleep on the floor without food or heat, Mary Thomas knew there were worse places her children could go. At one time case workers attempted to move her family into a violent housing project. Bravely, Mary went to Mayor Richard Daley to complain and tell him that she wasn’t going to go.

Although three of Mary’s children eventually succumbed to crime, her two daughters and four of her boys turned out just fine. Her son Isiah Thomas became a famous NBA basketball player who paid college tuition for over 75 young people throughout his career. Upon retirement from basketball he continued to do charity work in anti-crime and anti-poverty programs. Isiah Thomas has given his mother credit for his success throughout his life and it is easy to see why. Mary Thomas’s story continues to be an inspiration for many mothers facing similar challenges. Quite often the most courageous mothers are those who do their best to protect their children with what little resources they have.

From the Back Court to the Front Office: The Isiah Thomas Story

By Dana Plazyk

In her blog The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin writes about what else? Happiness!

But it’s really more than that. During a year’s time she set forth to test in principle and theory what it takes to be happy. She delved into information available, scientific studies, historical recounts, listened to tips from famous and not so famous and put down in paper her daily adventures on the quest for happiness.

During that year, Gretchen, mother of two young daughters, also had the opportunity to put together a touching two-minute movie, The Years Are Short, about childhood and the special bond we can have with our children.  A key ingredient to happiness. 

The Years Are Short, A Movie By Gretchen Rubin

Worth watching!

Her book “THE HAPPINESS PROJECT” (HarperCollins) is due to come out in late 2009.

Gretchen Rubin is an accomplished author of several books:
Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life
Power Money Fame Sex: A User’s Guide
Profane Waste: Essay by Gretchen Rubin And Photographs by Dana Hoey
Forty Ways to Look at JFK

The Happiness Project is available for preorder.

By Dana Plazyk

News spread around the world like wild fire when Connie Culp, mother of two and grandmother of two, gave her first interview at the Cleveland Clinic on May 5, 2009. Connie was the recipient of the first face transplant ever performed in the U.S. and she was happy and to show off her new face.

Her “new face” didn’t just imply a new physical look, but a new chapter in a story that began a little over five years ago in Ohio, when she was just 40.

This chapter in Connie’s story begins when in a split second her life is forever changed. “There were some good times and some bad times,” she said in an interview with Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America speaking about her marriage, “and that day I knew something bad was going to happen. I never expected it to be this.” In a fit of anger, her husband had shot her with a shotgun destroying 80% of her face. Connie was left with no jaw, nose or nerve endings and with hundreds of shotgun pellets and bone splinters embedded in what was left of her face.

Two months after the shooting, Dr. Risal Djohan of the Cleveland Clinic made her a promise: “He didn’t know if he could “fix” me, but he’d try.” Over the next five years, Connie underwent 27 surgeries to rebuild her face, enduring excruciating pain. But there was something about Connie that prevailed above all: her courage, humor and positive outlook on the whole ordeal. Even when being pointed at, or dubbed as a “monster” by children, she never gave up.

Finally, on December 10, 2008 in a procedure lead by Dr. Maria Siemionow, Connie received the face of an anonymous donor—a woman of about her age and her complexion—to whom she is eternally grateful. In a 22-hour procedure, surgeons attached some of the skeleton structure, nerves, tissues and a nose to her battered face. In the Cleveland Clinic press conference, Connie recalled her first thankful words: “I’ve got me my nose!” Later in the GMA interview she remembered what it was like smelling again after five years and sneezing for the first time. “I didn’t know what part to cover, “ she recalled. Another great experience came when she was able to eat a hamburger and pizza again. So many things most of us just take for granted…

Her story is not over. She will have to undergo more surgeries to continue the restructuring of her face. In the meantime, she pledges to tell her story and campaign against domestic violence. “If he threatens you, it’s going to happen,” she commented teary-eyed to Diane Sawyer. Her husband received a 7-year prison sentence, which he is currently serving.

Connie is thankful for many things these days—especially her “extended family” in which she includes her doctors, therapists, nurses and the anonymous family of the woman with whom she shares a face. She also thanks her daughter who has been with her throughout this ordeal.

Connie is inspired by the lyrics from Tim McGraw’s song “Live Like You Were Dying: And I loved deeper , And I spoke sweeter, And I gave forgiveness I’d been denyin’” The focus of everyday worries can change in a moment and she tell us : “When someone has a disfigurement…don’t judge them, because you never know what happened.”

In this age of beauty queens and celebrities, Connie reminds us that beauty really resides within the spirit. The story of Connie Culp is one that should be read and retold.

Crazy Love
Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men

By Dana Plazyk

The real answer is “PRICELESS!” 

Can one really put a value on the relentless dedication and devotion of a mother that attends to her family and household?  Is it measurable?  Perhaps intangibles such as love, nurture, and the pursuit of the family’s well-being  may not be able to be measured accurately.  But when it comes to the physical tasks that are involved in the management of a family, there is a number.

What if someone would have to be hired to do all the work a mother does?  How much would that cost?  Here are the astonishing figures:  According to Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America, in the U.S. to replace a stay-at-home mom, be ready to pay $122,000.00 annually.  To replace a mom that works from home or outside the home, take her base salary plus $76,000.00!

Information that will well worth sharing!

By Ilana Schreiber

Mother’s Day is celebrated each year in the United States on the second Sunday of the month. Hallmark reports that nearly 96% of consumers in the United States take part in spending on Mother’s day, and the National Retail Foundation reflects that  Mother’s Day is a $14 Billion industry.  Though many have come to refer to this largely commercialized holiday as a “Hallmark Holiday,” it was not, in fact invented by the greeting card gurus in an effort to boost consumer spending.  In contrast, the holiday was derived from the intentions of tribute, honor, and women’s activism for peace, and engenders a history of battle against commercialism from the start.

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis’ work with women’s organizations in Virginia created the first sparks toward the establishment of Mother’s Day as a national holiday in the United States. In the mid 1800’s, Jarvis organized a series of Mothers’ Day Work Clubs, with the goal of improving health and sanitary conditions within communities. During the Civil War, Jarvis urged the clubs to focus on providing relief and care to both Union and Confederate soldiers, with a stance of neutrality. The clubs treated the wounded and regularly fed and clothed soldiers stationed in the area. Jarvis also succeeded in maintaining a thread of peace and reconciliation in a community being torn apart by political differences. In the summer of 1865, Ann Jarvis organized a Mothers’ Friendship Day at the courthouse in her hometown. Her mission was to bring together soldiers and neighbors of all political beliefs. Though many feared that the day would erupt in violence, the event triumphed and Mother’s Friendship Day became an annual event for a few more years.

In 1872, inspired by her desire for peace and her search for a means of women’s expression, Julia Ward Howe began proclaiming that June 2 every year would be “Mother’s Day for Peace.” Howe, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, put forward the idea of a Mother’s Day as a day dedicated to peace in the spirit of women’s activism, and though her day was never adopted at the congressional or presidential level, the holiday was informally adopted and celebrated in many cities and towns by 1873, and continued to be celebrated in some parts of the country until the early 1900’s.

In 1905 when Ann Jarvis died, her daughter, Anna, decided to pay tribute to all of her mother’s work and accomplishments. Anna stopped working and fully dedicated herself to the creation of Mother’s Day, tirelessly petitioning a wide span of institutions and organizations, business leaders, women’s groups, churches and state and federal governments, including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt. In 1907, Anna Jarvis held a ceremony to honor her mother in Grafton, West Virginia, and included white carnations, her mother’s favorite flower, in the ceremony. When word spread, federal officials were soon sporting white carnations on Mother’s Day, after the House of Representatives adopted a resolution requiring them to do so. By 1912, Mother’s day had become an officially recognized holiday in West Virginia, and two years later, in 1914, Anna’s hard work met with success when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Initially, the celebrations of Mother’s Day involved people attending church and writing letters to their mothers. After some time, people began celebrating by sending cards, presents and flowers. Anna Jarvis became angered at the commercialization of the holiday, believing that the sentiment of Mother’s Day was being sacrificed for profit and greed. In 1928 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day event, and she was later arrested for disturbing the peace at a mother’s convention where white carnations were being sold. In the 1930’s Anna also petitioned against a newly released postage stamp, which displayed her Mother, a vase of white carnations, and the word “Mother’s Day.” Though she was successful in having the words “Mother’s Day” removed, the flowers remained. In 1938, Time Magazine featured Anna’s battle to copyright Mother’s Day, but by then, the commercial trend had prevailed.

So, however we choose to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, let us all take some time to remember and honor the many women who stood for peace and tradition before us, without whose lives and dedication could we be celebrating today.

 
Mothers’ Day: Its History, Origin, Celebration, Spirit And Significance, As Related In Prose And Verse

By Ilana Schreiber

Approximately 96% of people in the United States recognize Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of each year. As the holiday approaches, children are inundated with images of children and dads buying gifts and cards for grateful moms in the media. If you walk into most classrooms around this time, you will find children busy creating special projects and cards to bring home to present with excitement to their mothers on that special Sunday.

However, what about the children from nontraditional homes? In 2006, figures reported by the U.S. Census Bureau reflected that only 15% of all families in the United States fit the model of the “typical American family,” a heterosexual married couple, with the woman caring for the children inside of the home and the man working outside of the home.

Converse to this model, children in the U.S. live in a wide array of family types. For example, while some children do live in a home with a biological mother and father, many live with only one parent. Other children who live with two parents often live with one biological or adoptive parent and one stepparent. Many children live with two mothers or two fathers, in same-sex households, and the parents of some children are married, and others are not. Some children are cared for by relatives, foster parents, or childcare agencies and don’t identify their caregiver as “parents” at all.

This is not to say that those of us who want to celebrate our mothers, or want to be celebrated, shouldn’t – after all, mothers deserve to be honored for all that they do. It is important, however, to acknowledge that families differ. Unless we acknowledge the diversity among families in the United States, we alienate a great number of our children on holidays such as Mother’s Day. When a child who lives with her aunt, after the death of her mother, is not recognized in a third grade classroom, for example, she can be left feeling isolated during a seemingly fun class project when her classmates are creating special Mother’s Day cards to bring home for the holiday. Depending on the child, she may let the teacher know that she is feeling left out of the festivities, but more often she will be embarrassed and will go with the norm despite the discomfort of doing such an activity.

Another common issue that arises in the classroom is again based on a lack of awareness. In the zeal of creating fun Mother’s Day projects, teachers will often dissuade or even completely restrict a child from making more than one Mother’s Day card. When a child has two mothers, for example, whether it be in a stepparent situation or a same-sex family, if a child is not allowed to make a card for both mothers, he or she is forced to choose one over the other and again left with an alienated and uncomfortable feeling.

Mother’s Day has been celebrated for almost one hundred years, and much progress has happened during this time. As the United States increasingly embraces diversity, it will be interesting to see the changes that occur to accommodate the diversity in families and to support the children who live within them.

Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and Classism

By Lacey Johnson

Mother’s Day in the United States is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The phrase “second Sunday in May,” and “Mother’s Day” are actually trademarked terms. The placement of the apostrophe in Mother’s Day was also done with a purpose: to make it more individualized and honor each mother as an individual in her own right. Spring was chosen to celebrate Mother’s Day for two reasons : first, it is symbolic of the generations of life and when everything blooms and comes to life, and second, it is the time that America experiences their highest birth rates.

The concept of Mother’s Day was originally imported to the States by Julia Ward Howe sometime after the Civil War in an effort to unite women against war. It was inspired by the British day honoring mothers. Her efforts never became fruitful, however.

Mother’s Day, as we know it in the United States, was created by Anna Jarvis, two years after her mothers’ death, on May 12, 1907. On that day she proceeded to hand out 500 white carnations to every mother present at the Sunday service at Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church. Anna chose to distribute white carnations because they were her mother’s favorite flower and she helped her tend to them in her garden. She believed that white symbolized the purity of a mothers’ love.

Anna felt the need for a day to honor one’s mother because she believed that mothers’ bear the loss of a human life more than anyone else. She is also responsible for the creation of the Mother’s Day International Association. The Mother’s Day International Association was formed on December 12, 1912 in an effort to further the observations of the day throughout the globe. It wasn’t until 1914 that the holiday became nationally recognized, however by 1911 all states at that time actively recognized the day. Ironic as it may sound, Anna Jarvis herself, by the 1920’s, spent her entire life savings and ended up imprisoned for attempting to end Mother’s Day as we know it. She felt that it had become over commercialized.

Now in the 21st Century, thanks in large part to flower companies, white carnations have come to symbolize a mother that has passed while red carnations are a symbol of a mother that is still with us. The original church that Anna celebrated her mother at, Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church, is now the official International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Throughout the country on Mother’s Day, mothers are treated to flowers, cards, and breakfasts in bed. Americans spend $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on papering gifts such as pedicures and manicures, and $68 million on greeting cards alone. The second Sunday in May has come to be known as the busiest day of the year for restaurants and the telephone companies record their highest levels of traffic on this day. The American flag is to be displayed “on government buildings and at people’s homes” as public expression of our love and devotion to the mothers of this country.

“Happy Mother’s Day!”