“There is not a woman in the world who could take the place of my mother”. The late, great rapper Tupac Shakur spoke some of the truest words in the lyrics of his song Dear Mama. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. No matter how you say it, the person you are calling upon is your Mother. This black African queen is the backbone and foundation of the family. This is someone who carried you for nine months or raised you from birth. A woman who played the mother figure in your life. Rather, it was your mother, aunt, grandmother, or great-grandmother who filled that maternal role. The woman who was there for you when you felt like you had no one else on your side. Once a baby is brought into the picture, a mother goes through what some might call one of the most precious stages, motherhood. Mothers are the glue that holds everything together, even when it feels like it could fall apart. Mothers are and should be highly commended for everything they go through during motherhood. Examining all aspects of motherhood in black culture helps define concepts of its symbolization, background, and relationships. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz underlines how it is always the dominant culture that has deemed it its duty to define the black woman. Which then begs the question, “Is it fair for the white race to define the motherhood of black culture by what it sees alone?” The first step to understanding the meaning of motherhood in black culture is to first break it down into its simplest form. To do this it is necessary to analyze all the phases of what is black motherhood that transforms into true femininity and equates to a “good” mother, according to Collins (Sealey-Ruiz 141-53). Motherhood is defined as the kinship between a mother and her children. Then we have femininity which is simply the state of being a woman. Now, when you define what a “good” woman is".