A tribute to Black mothers: these remarkable women are nurturers who possess a world of strength

PAUL Laurence Dunbar sings her praises as the nicest person in his life in a poem entitled, "Appreciation," while Claude McKay weeps mournfully for her in his own prose. Nikki Giovanni recalls that it was "mommy" who taught her the first poem she learned as a little girl. Not every son or daughter takes pen to paper to immortalize a mother, but that is not to say the millions of mothers all over the world (and those gone on) are not as loved. Most of us have learned that there is not even a semblance of a replacement for that vital potion we call "mother love," be it from a biological parent or a special someone who mothered us along the way.

In this, the month that mothers are cherished and remembered the most, EBONY pays tribute to 12 women--all mothers--and all, in a word, remarkable. Through their courage, talent or altruism, each has shown us what Black mothering can and must be. They have demonstrated that love is the way--love of our children, love of our God, love of our mission or purpose on the planet.

Among our honored mothers are those who possess courage: Janet Hall, mother of Joy Hall, the first Black national poster child for Easter Seals Foundation; Alison Leland, wife of the late U.S. Rep. George (Mickey) Leland and mother of three sons; and Kimi Gray, a Washington, D.C., welfare mother who has become the national leader for public housing reform. There are those who have taken the act of selfless giving, perfected it, and turned it into an art: Scarlette Hunley, the mother of L.A. Raiders football player Rickey Hunley, raised 11 of her own children and mothered some 40 foster children; Mother Clara Hale, going strong at 85 years young, has for 20 years run a house of hope for drug-addicted babies and their mothers. When it comes to talent, few hold a torch to Gwendolyn Brooks, the Illinois poet laureate, who has instilled the light of literary expression in countless schoolchildren, including her own daughter. And there are more.

Not just those we have chosen to honor here, but the unknown others who may never appear on the pages of a national magazine, but who will continue to do more than their part to nurture humankind. No wonder that magnificent "M" word is so universally recognized!