Anna Malaika Tubbs (Clare 2014, King’s 2017): From Cambridge to Cultural Changemaker
"Every year, around January 15, the world rightfully celebrates the birth of the great Martin Luther King, Jr. Yet virtually no one has stopped to consider who else was in that room that day in 1929. As if somehow MLK, Jr. birthed himself,” said Anna Malaika Tubbs (Clare 2014, King’s 2017), opening her TED Talk entitled “How Moms Shape the World.”
The talk, viewed two million times, underscores the stories in her first book and best seller The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation.
The Gates Scholar, Clare and King's alumna, mother, author, and TED Talk presenter has something to say about the importance of mothers, American patriarchy (which is the subject of her second best seller Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us), and so much more.
Anna Malaika Tubbs has always known she wanted to share her viewpoints with the world; and by all measures she is succeeding. Her opinions are rooted in research, intellectual inquiry, and a lifetime of observation. As a child, she developed a global perspective on the challenges and successes of myriad communities. That was by design.
“My parents were both lawyers and they wanted us to see as much of the world as possible. So, we lived in Dubai, Estonia, Sweden, Azerbaijan, and Mexico. My dad is from Ghana, so we would visit Ghana once a year,” said Tubbs. These experiences and her mother’s advocacy work helped form her sense of purpose and shaped her perspective on issues of equity in societies.
“My mom specialized in fighting for women’s rights and children’s rights. She was always calling out systems of inequity or patriarchy or places where women and mothers were not being treated the way they should be,” said Tubbs, who earned three social science degrees. As an undergraduate at Stanford University, she majored in Anthropology; while at Clare College it was Gender Studies; as a Gates Scholar at King's, a PhD in Sociology. “My experience of observing so many different cultures abroad made these areas of study natural for me. In all the places I lived, it was gender that appeared as the first level of inequity.”
This understanding has shaped the direction of her research and writing. Her breakout best seller grew out of her doctoral thesis, an examination of the lives of the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin. Each woman had their own story of resistance, courage, and survival. When she began to investigate their lives, she was astounded by how little was known about them.
“How did we not know this about these three women? This is shocking. How did it happen?” Tubbs recalled her surprise.
She credits Cambridge and her time as a Gates Scholar with helping her shape her approach to this story.
“Cambridge as a whole and specifically Gates Cambridge and its emphasis on projects that would do something in the world, that weren’t just academic. The program encouraged us to contribute beyond the life of the mind. I always knew that I wanted to be a public intellectual and that I wanted my work to translate beyond the ivory tower and beyond academia. And I was grateful that I had that support. It made a really big difference for me to be able to write in a way that would touch people beyond my department and beyond my committee.”
The success of her first two books is fueling Tubbs’ determination to keep her unique gift for narrative, serving a higher purpose.
“I have so many ideas for stories, and now I feel very inspired to write for TV and film,” said Tubbs, who is right now working on several other projects including a novel, two screenplays, and her third nonfiction book – which follows a group of women who were formerly incarcerated when they were young girls.
“Despite having experienced the worst that our nation has to offer, they are still filled with so much hope, light, and resistance,” said Tubbs. To current Cambridge students and Gates Scholars, she has this advice: “It’s about making Cambridge what you want it to be for yourself, because Cambridge gives you that freedom and that trust. Remember your reason for being there and don’t compare it to others, believe in your own unique path.”
