Mothers of the Movement is a group of women whose African American children have been killed by police officers or by gun violence. Members of the group have appeared on various television shows, at award ceremonies, and political events to share their experiences losing a son or daughter to police violence and advocate for political change. The Mothers of the Movement started as a result of the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman after he fatally shot and killed teenager Trayvon Martin. The women have attended many conventions to spread awareness of the crisis that is police brutality in the United States. They are using their grief to rally involvement in communities and highlight the injustice they have endured with the loss of their children's lives. They also talk about life after loss, the

five stages of grief The five stages of grief model (or the Kübler-Ross model) is popularly known as a model that describes a series of emotions experienced by people who are grieving: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In actuality, the Kübler- ...

(denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance), and how to move forward after a traumatic event.

Political activism

2016 Democratic National Convention

Seven women from the group—

Gwen Carr Gwen Carr (born 1949) is an American activist, public speaker, and author. Carr's son, Eric Garner, was killed by a New York Police Department officer who used a prohibited chokehold to arrest Garner. Since her son's death, Carr has become active ...

, mother of

Eric Garner On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was killed in the New York City borough of Staten Island after Daniel Pantaleo, a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer, put him in a prohibited chokehold while arresting him. Video footage of the inciden ...

; Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontre Hamilton;

Lucy McBath Lucia Kay McBath (née Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Georgia's 6th congressional district. The district, once represented by Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, includes ma ...

, Future U.S. Representative and mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, mother of Hadiya Pendleton; and Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of

Sandra Bland Sandra Annette Bland was a 28-year-old African-American woman who was found hanged in a jail cell in Waller County, Texas, on , 2015, three days after being arrested during a traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide. It was followed by protest ...

—spoke in support of Clinton's candidacy for president during the July

2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the majo ...

in Philadelphia. Clinton had reached out privately the previous November to meet with the women. The Mothers of the Movement subsequently joined Clinton on the campaign trail to support her candidacy and advocate for an end to these killings. Samaria Rice, the mother of Tamir Rice, did not join the other mothers in their endorsement of Hillary Clinton. She did not see an acceptable level of commitment against police brutality from any of the candidates and therefore withheld her endorsement. She did support the other mothers, saying in an interview with Fusion, "I hope they going to hold her accountable for whatever discussions they had behind closed doors." The Mothers of the Movement have been criticized for being used by the Clinton campaign, but members deny this claim.

Women's March 2017

Mothers of the Movement accompanied singer and actress Janelle Monáe appearing at the

Women's March on Washington Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 ma ...

on January 21, 2017, after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

In the media

In August 2016, several members appeared with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

at the Video Music Awards. Gwen Carr, Lezley McSpadden, and Sybrina Fulton had also appeared in the singer's short film "LEMONADE", accompanying her 2016 album of the same name, holding photos of their slain sons. Women from the Mothers of the Movement group appeared on ''

The Dr. Oz Show ''The Dr. Oz Show'' (or simply ''Oz'') is an American syndicated daytime television talk show, hosted by Mehmet Oz, that aired between September 14, 2009, and January 14, 2022. Each episode features segments on health, wellness, and medical infor ...

'' special episode entitled, "Healing America’s Grief: Mothers of The Movement And Mothers of Slain Officers Together For The First Time", which appeared on air September 12, 2016. The show featured the mothers of victims of police violence as well as mothers of police officers killed by civilians. Guests of the show included Sybrina Fulton, Lucy McBath, Geneva Reed-Veal, Cleopatra Cowley, Maria Hamilton, Samara Rice, Lesley McSpadden, Wanda Johnson, Gwen Carr, Valerie Zamarripa, Paulette Thompson, and Nancy Renninger. Both groups spoke about losing a son or daughter to violence and as well as the difficulties of grieving in public. Additionally, Reed-Veal explained the need for more global conversations about racism and violence. Gwen Carr, Sybrina Fulton, and Lezley McSpadden spoke at the 2016 Triumph Awards, a joint venture by National Action Network and TV One to recognize distinguished individuals and corporations in civil rights, the arts, entertainment, education, business and sports who have made a positive impact on society by utilizing their talents and resources to help under-resourced communities. The ceremony was hosted at the Tabernacle Theater in Atlanta and aired on Sunday, October 2, 2016, at 7 p.m. EDT.

References

{{Black Lives Matter 2010s in the United States African Americans' rights organizations African-American women's organizations Anti-black racism in the United States Black Lives Matter Criminal justice reform in the United States History of African-American civil rights Social justice organizations Women's political advocacy groups in the United States Anti-racist organizations Women's organizations based in the United States

Political activism

2016 Democratic National Convention

Women's March 2017

In the media

See also

References