How Moms Shape The World | Anna Malaika Tubbs | TED

Mothers undeniably impact and shape history — but their stories are often left out or misrepresented, says sociologist and author Anna Malaika Tubbs. This erasure limits policies to support mothers and their essential roles in society. Citing the remarkable lives of Alberta King, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin (the mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin, respectively), Tubbs emphasizes the need to shift the perspective on motherhood at a cultural level — to better reflect the presence, power and influence of moms as our first leaders, caretakers and teachers. “Would the world be different today if we had been telling their stories all along?“ she asks. Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know. Become a TED Member: Follow TED on Twitter: Like TED on Facebook: Subscribe to our channel: TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at