Carl Snowden, Convener for the Caucus of African American Leaders, Reflects on Mother’s Legacy, Resilience, in Mother’s Day Tribute

Carl Snowden, Convener for the Caucus of African American Leaders, recently shared a heartfelt tribute honoring the life and influence of his late mother, Ora Snowden, in observance of Mother’s Day 2026.

In a social media post, Snowden reflected on the profound reverence he held for his mother, describing her as “the only person who could ‘tell’ me what to do.”

Ora Snowden lived to the age of 104, having been born before women in the United States gained the right to vote. According to Snowden, her life journey provided a firsthand account of the racism and sexism endured by Black Americans throughout the twentieth century.

As she grew older, Snowden said he intentionally began asking his mother to share stories about her life growing up as a Black woman in what he described as “an apartheid America.” Those conversations, he said, revealed painful realities about segregation and discrimination in Maryland and across the country. Among the stories that remained with Snowden most was the death of his maternal grandfather, John Brown, who suffered a stroke in Davidsonville and was reportedly denied treatment at the then-Annapolis General Hospital because of the color of his skin.

Snowden said his mother experienced repeated injustices throughout her life, including racial barriers that determined where Black families could live, attend school, and bury their loved ones. Reflecting on those experiences, Snowden said they strengthened his determination to remove barriers that prevent people from living with “zest and joy.”

According to Snowden, his mother understood through lived experience the realities of racial oppression and witnessed significant societal changes during her lifetime. “She was outraged,” Snowden wrote, by dismissals of progress because she personally experienced systems that “denigrated, exploited, and oppressed Black people.”

Snowden also reflected on watching his mother work tirelessly to support her family alongside his father, who worked as a butcher and cook at the United States Naval Academy. He further recalled the moment his mother learned that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened a file on him and allegedly sought to recruit her as a confidential informant against her own son. Snowden said her loyalty and steadfast support remained unwavering.

Throughout the tribute, Snowden repeatedly credited his mother’s faith, wisdom, and encouragement with helping shape both his personal resilience and his decades of community advocacy through the Caucus of African American Leaders and other organizations. “When others tell you, you can’t, it was my mother who said you can,” Snowden wrote. “When others rejected me, it was my mother who embraced me.”

Snowden also shared memories of his mother attending annual dinners hosted by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, where she met prominent civil rights and political leaders including Jesse Jackson Sr., Parren J. Mitchell, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Maya Angelou, and Bennie G. Thompson.

In recounting one of their final conversations before her death six years ago, Snowden said his mother spoke peacefully about reuniting with deceased loved ones and expressed gratitude for witnessing extraordinary changes during her lifetime. Snowden said his mother encouraged him not to grieve for her, reminding him that she had been blessed to see her children become adults and to witness African Americans and women attain unprecedented achievements in American society.

Closing his Mother’s Day reflection, Snowden described his mother’s enduring impact on his life and reaffirmed the values she instilled in him.

“Until the day I leave this world,” he wrote, “I will boldly declare my love for my mother and thank God that she taught me something: resilience.”