From Screen To Soul: The Many Beautiful Faces Of Black Motherhood In Film, Television, & Theatre

12 On-Screen & On-Stage Black Mothers Who Radiate Legacy & Love

As the oldest daughter of four, I have been raised by powerful, confident, intelligent women. My mother, Lauren, my grandmothers, Elizabeth and Cora, and the aunts who came before me. As a biracial woman, I have been taught to be proud of my heritage. It is my pride and joy, and one of the many reasons I am grateful for my mother’s love.

Motherhood is not only the blood who birthed you, but the women who raised you. A mother’s love can be direct or indirect—through the women who cultivated our very own existence. From my Jamaican aunts, Adinah, Daisy, Ruby, and Violet to the women who’ve welcomed me into their homes, being a mother is so much more than what meets the eye.

What we have always known to be true is Black motherhood is beautiful, cultural, and intrinsic to our people, community, and legacy. From television to text, screen to script, painting to picture, Black motherhood has transcended time through rejoicing. It has simultaneously been a representation of Black joy—a form of protest against misogynoir. Black mothers uplift us, raise us, and touch our souls. Through the friendships created, hearts healed, and multiplicity of memories made, Black motherhood has influenced all of us in one manner or another.

In one of my favorite literary works of intersectional feminism, bell hooks dedicated her book, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism to her mother. While inspired by Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman? speech in 1851, she wrote the opening dedication in honor of Rosa Bell.

“For Rosa Bell, my mother—

who told me when I was a child that she had once written poems—that I had inherited my love of reading and my longing to write from her.”

In the anticipation of Mother’s Day around the corner, I find myself contemplating the portrayal of motherhood in film, television, and media. Specifically, Black mother-figures and their illustration within visual mediums. And to take it a step further, I want to explore how Black motherhood is portrayed by Black writers, directors, and visionaries. While the industry has changed with each decade, we can still find authenticity in theatre, film, and television. Here are 12 on-screen and on-stage Black mothers that have inspired me emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually:

1. A Raisin in the Sun’s (on-screen 1961 adaptation) Lena Younger (played by Claudia McNeil)

   

2. Claudine (1974) (played by Diahann Caroll)

   

3. Moesha’s (1996-2001) Dee Mitchell (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph)

   

4. How to Get Away with Murder’s (2014-2020) Ophelia Harkness (played by Cicely Tyson)

   

5. Black-ish’s (2014-2022) Rainbow Johnson (played by Tracee Ellis Ross)

   

6. Queen Sugar’s (2016-2022) Viola Bennett (played by Tina Lifford)

   

7. Black Panther’s (2018) Queen Ramonda of Wakanda (played by Angela Bassett)

   

8. If Beale Street Could Talk’s (2018) Sharon Rivers (played by Regina King)

   

9. Miss Juneteenth’s (2020) Turquoise Jones (played by Nicole Beharie)

   

10. A Thousand and One’s (2023) Inez de la Paz (played by Teyana Taylor)

    

11. Forever’s (2025) Dawn Edwards (played by Karen Pittman) and Shelly Clark (played by Xosha Roquemore)

    

12. Joe Turner’s Come & Gone’s Bertha Holly (played by Taraji P. Henson) (published in 1988, now currently on Broadway)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who are no longer here with us, those who have loved us, and the mother-figures we admire deeply. Feel free to add your favorite protagonists, supporting characters, and mentors in the comments!

—Savanna Mai // @savanna_rust7