Ive always found it endearing the way men pay homage to the mothers and matriarchs in their lives. We love songs like Tupacs Dear Mama and Bill Withers Grandmas Hands. We witness the robust relationship between Kanye West and his late mother, Donda, who was undoubtedly his biggest fan, in the documentary Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. We heard the gut-wrenching cries of George Floyd calling out for his mother moments before his death in 2020. Black motherhood has often been centered in the analysis of the Black family and for Black men, the maternal connection is vital, political and liberating. These affirmations are dedicated to women whose labor and love are far-reaching and priceless. The vocal appreciation is always welcomed, especially when the work of mothers has often been overlooked.

My mother is a force of nature. If she wants to get something done, its getting done. I think thats been pretty evident in the course of her journey, said Sulaiman Rashid, a 20-year-old college student in Washington, D.C., whose mother raised four kids. My siblings and I have different career paths, but we are all grounded in the desire to create change, and that stems from my moms passion to help and to serve others and to aid in the betterment of the world.

For Mothers Day, I wanted to explore the relationships between sons and their mothers. In this series of portraits, I photographed families and asked the sons to share some perspectives of the role their mothers had in their lives. From guidance on love, career and education to artistic inspiration and global travel, we see an expansive view of the strong bonds between Black sons and their mothers.