About Us
We are MAMAS
We are
MAMAS
MAMAS is a fiery feminist of color, abolitionist reproductive justice collective hailing from the heart of Chicago.
We don't just confront systems of state violence head-on, challenging the oppressive forces of prisons, war, colonization, imperialism, and anti-immigrant injustices; we build mama-power and foster communities based upon love and justice, healing and resistance, caring and liberation.
We rely upon trusting relationships, communal-care, and radical love to shape the path forward. We exist to ensure that mamas laboring bravely on the frontlines of communities under siege from state violence - those who have been incarcerated, those with incarcerated children and loved ones, those confronting colonial violence, those who are fighting deportation and the criminalization of migrants- wield unparalleled power as catalysts for decolonization, abolition, and revolution. Our definition of "mamas" transcends biology, encompassing all mothers and caregivers who carry the weight of state violence on their backs as it ripples into families and communities, offering up their knowledge, support and resistance, and nurturing each other and their communities towards a future beyond harm and violence.
We rally around the practices of mothering and caregiving in the most unconventional places—in & outside prison walls, in visitation halls and the courtroom, on the frontlines of colonial battlegrounds, and among undocumented communities resisting deportation and the relentless criminalization of migrants and refugees.
We integrate the voices and strategies of BIPOC people who are mothers and caregivers into social movements, media debates, and policy processes related to prison abolition, migrant justice, and the decolonization of indigenous lands. This integration is necessary if we are to survive these systems and grow the kinds of connections and alternatives needed to build a just and loving society.
Armed with the sacred tools of Feminist of Color, Reproductive, and Healing Justice, we weave the fabric of our movement, knitting bonds of solidarity, and sparking the embodiment of mutual aid, and the nurturing of one another, our resistance, and our visions for vibrant, life affirming futures.
Our Mission
Birthing life affirming worlds by powering abolitionist and decolonial social movements with the radical force of mothering.
Our Vision
We envision just and loving communities with the power of mothers and caregivers at the heart of our collective liberation.
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Why We Exist
We recognize that mothering is an incredibly potent force for transforming oppressive conditions into radical love and liberation. In the face of adversity, mothers not only give birth to new life but also to ideas, movements, and a blueprint for a fairer world, acting as both caregivers and champions of change. We aim to uplift the immense possibilities that emerge when mother-survivors of state violence and mama-warriors have a central seat at the movement and policy table.
As abolitionist and anti-imperialist movements continue to grow, and these politics circulate more broadly, mothers and caregivers need to be recognized at the forefront of the visions and strategies that propel us forward. While the state dehumanizes and blames mothers of color for social problems, and social movements often tokenize and devalue them, we firmly believe that those who are practicing radical mothering in the face of white supremacy, colonization, and deportation, offer the wisdom and strategies necessary for achieving our freedom dreams. We exist to uplift the interconnectedness of parenting and political work, nurturing and building power. Cultivating spaces for collective healing and mutual support among mother-survivors of state violence.
We praise mothering at home, mothering at work, mothering on the streets, and mothering beyond boundaries on our path forward towards collective liberation.
Our History
MAMAS was born out of community-based gatherings in Chicagoland, where it became evident that mothers, especially those who are activists in migrant justice, decolonial, and abolitionist movements, were either tokenized or marginalized and their knowledge and expertise erased. It was also born out of our connections with movements in Egypt and Palestine where we recognized that the need to amplify the urgency of mothering forms of labor to our movements is a global concern.
This recognition led to the creation of MAMAS, to uplift the visions, strategies, and activism of people who conduct mothering and caring forms of labor among BIPOC communities. Our collective includes biological and non-biological mothers and caregivers. We recognize that Black and Brown people mothering on the frontlines of communities targeted by state violence are among the most powerful forces of social change. As abolitionist and anti-imperialist movements continue to grow, and these politics circulate more broadly, mothers and caregivers need to be recognized at the forefront of the visions and strategies that propel us forward. While the state dehumanizes and blames mothers of color for social problems, and social movements often tokenize and devalue them, we firmly believe that those who are practicing radical mothering in the face of white supremacy, colonization, and deportation, offer the wisdom and strategies necessary for achieving our freedom dreams. We exist to uplift the interconnectedness of parenting and political work, nurturing and building power and cultivating spaces for collective healing and mutual support among mother-survivors of state violence.
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