Listen To Your Mother

By Anita Rao,

Published April 29, 2016 at 12:18 PM EDT

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NaShonda Cooke is a Durham Public Schools teacher and a mother of two. She's one of many participants in Listen To Your Mother, a performance and social media project that 'gives motherhood a microphone.'

NaShonda Cooke

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'Men of Honor' is a group of 47 elementary school boys mentored by NaShonda Cooke, a mother of two and Durham Public Schools teacher.

NaShonda Cooke

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The three children of Martie Sirois, a Raleigh mother of three participating in 'Listen To Your Mother,' a performance and social media project that celebrates all aspects of motherhood.

Martie Sirois

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Charlie (pictured here) is now 10 years old. He identifies as 'gender creative,' and is the subject of his mother's essay featured in this year's 'Listen To Your Mother' project.

Martie Sirois

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Writer and poet Stephanie Levin with her two daughters. Stephanie is one of the participants in the North Carolina 'Listen To Your Mother' event.

Stephanie Levin

In 2010, humorist and blogger Ann Imig was looking for a way “give motherhood a microphone.” She coordinated an event in her hometown in Wisconsin where women from all walks of life gathered to share their stories about motherhood. Now, writers from across the nation gather to continue this trend by sharing their experiences of mothering—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Host Frank Stasio talks with three participants from the Listen To Your Mother Raleigh-Durham group: NaShonda Cooke, a Durham Public Schools teacher and mother of two, Stephanie Levin, a mother of two from Chapel Hill, and Martie Sirois, a mother of three with a gender creative child. They perform Wednesday, May 4, at 7:30 p.m. at Jones Auditorium at Meredith College.