Mama Tingo couldn’t read or write, but she could make things grow! And now that racists were trying to steal her land, she’d use her abilities to grow something even more nourishing than her crops.
Revolution! Mama Tingo’s community was built by Black farmers, but now greedy white developers wanted the land for themselves. They’d tried everything to scare the farmers off the land: bulldozing, fires, and even violence. But they didn’t count on one thing.
Mama Tingo went from door to door, organizing Black farmers to fight back against the land developers. They showed up in court, shouted in the streets, and refused to leave their burned crops and bulldozed homes. Did it work?
Yes! Mama Tingo not only motivated her people to fight, but she’d showed them how to stand up for themselves. Though she was later assassinated – after fighting her killers off with her machete – her people kept fighting and the government eventually returned the land to the rightful owners.
Mama Tingo never stopped fighting for what was stolen from our people. Her activism started when she was middle-aged, proving age ain’t nothing but a number! No matter our age or education, there’s a role for all of us when it comes to liberation. It’s never too late – or too early – to fight!