Motherhood Voices Rise Up And Sing
An interview with Cecelie Berry, editor of the new anthology: Rise Up Singing: Black Women Writers On Motherhood

by Penny Powell

Rise Up Singing: Black Women Writers On Motherhood, edited by Cecelie Berry, has hit the bookstores just in time for Mother's Day. It's an ideal book for any mother to snuggle up with to connect with mothering stories. For those moms who can't imagine getting through a 290-page book anytime soon, Rise Up Singing -- arranged in four sections and 29 stories -- can easily be approached by reading a story per day, per week, or just having it nearby when the need to hear a voice on motherhood arises.

Rise Up Singing offers readers the opportunity to enter the worlds of 29 outstanding black writers. It is filled with stories from writers such as Maya Angelou, Faith Ringgold, Deborah Roberts, Alice Walker.....and so many more! A story -- "Slip and Fall" -- by Berry is also included.

In the book's introduction, Berry, a Harvard Law School graduate and New Jersey stay-at-home mom, says, "Rise Up Singing: Black Women Writers On Motherhood was just a bubble in my mind when I departed for the Million Mom March on Mother's Day 2000." She later continues: "I had, that day, found a new mission; I'd heard the voices of the brave writers here. I invite you to listen to them. They make a rousing chorus, a call that will draw from faithful readers a soulful response. All comers are welcome, but particularly those African-American mothers who feel alone.

Some stories in Rise Up Singing will make you smile; others might make you cry. But whatever the emotion, an underlying powerful and meaningful message is within each story. Rise Up Singing shares the many realities of mothering, and writers such as Evelyn Coleman in her story "When Wild Southern Women Raise Daughters" -- or Melba Newsome in "Goin' Round the Bend" -- or Martha Southgate in "Unnatural Woman" have not sugarcoated parenting truths they encountered. The honesty in this book is refreshing. (It is unfortunate that space for this column will not allow a special mention of each writer and her story title; each writer certainly deserves it!)

"The mothers writing in this anthology speak in a range of voices," says Marian Wright Edelman in the book's foreword. "They are joyful, stressed, grateful, ambivalent, determined, disappointed, and, in bad ways and good, overwhelmed."

I had the pleasure of interviewing Berry about Rise Up Singing. So, sit back, relax and listen to her motherhood voice rise up and sing!

Penny Powell: In the introduction to Rise Up Singing: Black Women Writers On Motherhood, you mention that it was at the Million Mom March on Mother's Day 2000 where you confirmed your mission to arrange this anthology. Please share more about the process of this calling -- that inner voice that prompted you to move full speed ahead with this meaningful and moving project.

Cecelie Berry: I think that the Million Mom March affected me in several ways. First, I went alone and something about the process of doing something on my own -- which I hadn't done in years, always having children and husband in tow -- strengthened my confidence. I knew that by taking the trip, I was making a statement to others and myself that I was ready to take the helm in my life. It's funny that that same Mother's Day I was invited to a Junior League Brunch with a well-known makeup artist and other celebrities and, though I was glad to be invited, I knew that I couldn't find any answers there.

Also, I enjoyed being by myself on the bus, reconnecting with my inner thoughts about motherhood and the flow of my life. Reverend Suzan Cook identifies the same process in her essay "Too Blessed to be Stressed," when she attended the Black Ministers conference at Hampton University. She asked God if she should start a new ministry and received the answer while she was traveling. I think that when mothers take these trips they are turning inward, looking for the inspiration and guidance to take the next step in their lives. They are also looking for how they should reintroduce themselves to the world as the stronger, more mature woman that motherhood has made them.

And then, (at) the mall that day, I saw thousands of women from every walk of life who had come to make a statement about gun violence in our society. I was awed by how powerful mothers can be when they are united and I knew that I wanted to see that sense of mission and commitment continue. I thought the best way to do so was to concentrate on speaking out about what I was witnessing in my own community. I also realized that there must be other mothers who have deep convictions and experiences that need to be shared. And -- let's face it -- black mothers are not heard from or represented often enough in the debate on what affects our children most: the media, educational system, and violence.

Penny Powell: How did you manage to get such great writers all together in one book?

Cecelie Berry: Rise Up Singing was born from the March, but when it came to finding the people, I started from scratch. I knew that diversity would be important, geographic diversity was key. I wanted the book to be national in scope. I also wanted individual contributors to have had experience in different careers. Faith Ringgold is an artist as well as a writer, AJ Verdelle had her own data and statistical analysis company, Maxine Clair was in medicine and I am a lawyer. As a freelance writer and a "culture vulture" I am always reading periodicals and newspapers and I knew I wanted different kinds of writers: radio, television, print journalism, fiction writers and poets to be included. I wanted to give the reader a broad array of the talent that exists in the African-American community and how these mothers use their training and life experiences as they raise their children.



Penny Powell: What were some of their reactions to learning that a book of this sort would be born?

Cecelie Berry: Most people thought it was a great idea. Many recognized, though, that it is extremely difficult for writers to meet their deadlines, even more so when they have children and busy careers. So I was advised to be patient.

Penny Powell: While each and every voice in this anthology is interesting, special and varied, is there any one story in particular that touched you in a unique or especially profound way after reading it?

Cecelie Berry: I have read this book several times in the process of editing it and each time there is a new revelation. Different essays strike you at different times, depending on what you are going through. So if I tried to highlight a particular essay, I'd keep you all day, talking about how each one brought me to a higher understanding at a different time and in a different way.

Penny Powell: Did the writers have specific guidelines to follow when crafting their stories or was it a system of simply writing from the heart?

Cecelie Berry: Initially, I followed the "writing from the heart" system, believing that a mother who writes is under such time constraints that she should speak to the issue that moves her most. Also, every mother's story is unique, so I wasn't worried that there would be too much overlap. But once I had 10 or 12 contributors, I began to discuss with writers more what issues they wanted to address, just to make sure that not too many people wrote about their mother, for instance. While some explorations as daughters would be appropriate, I wanted the focus of the book to be on the experience of mothering.


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