This Mother’s Day, I’m reflecting deeply on the two women who shaped my life: my mother, Sonia Hayes, and my grandmother, Mildred Frisby. I honor them, and all mothers who sacrifice without recognition, who silently carry burdens, and who hold families and communities together in the face of incredible odds.
I want every mother in Baltimore to know that you are valued and appreciated, and there is someone in Annapolis fighting for you.
West Baltimore knew my mother as “Pinky.” They knew her toughness, her hustle, and they knew her struggles. My mother battled addiction much of her life, and like so many Baltimore families, we bore the weight of that pain every day. But I refuse to allow her story to be reduced to her addiction alone. My mother was more than her mistakes and failures; despite all she battled, she was present.
Even amid her struggles, she pushed me to take my education seriously. She knew the value of an education because she never graduated high school herself. She wanted something better for her son than what life had given her. She taught me grit, resilience and how to survive difficult circumstances. Some of the best parts of me — my determination, my toughness, my refusal to quit — come directly from her and I’m grateful.
My mother was present when I announced my candidacy for the Maryland Senate, but she passed away before I was elected. I often wish that I could tell her that despite every obstacle, she helped mold a man committed to service and committed to his community. Thank you, mama!
And then there was my grandmother, Mildred Frisby — my everything.
My grandmother raised four children of her own and also took me in. She worked for decades at Fellowes making wire binders, then came home and continued the work of caring for everybody else. She served faithfully at Garrison Boulevard United Methodist Church, volunteering in the food kitchen because helping people was simply who she was.
For me, she was that constant preverbal light at the end of every dark tunnel.
When I think about why I serve my constituents, it always comes back to her. Every family I want to protect from poverty, violence, addiction, or despair — it all traces back to Mildred Frisby.
Everything I do is a reflection of my love for my grandmother and to make real, the hopes she had for a better Baltimore.
Truth be told, my grandmother should not have had to carry as much as she did. She should not have had to work so hard just to keep a roof over our heads; and my mother should not have had to navigate addiction in a system that too often punishes instead of heals. Families in Penn North and across West Baltimore should not still be facing the same systemic barriers generation after generation.
That is the unfinished business of Sonia Hayes and Mildred Frisby.
It is the unfinished business of women who held families together while the government fell short or simply seemed to look the other way. Women who stretched paychecks, survived hardship, and still found ways to keep their families afloat. Women whose names never appear in history books or get spoken at podiums, but whose sacrifices shaped future leaders and saved entire communities.
Growing up in Penn North was tough.
Blessedly, there was a village of elders and neighbors who saw my potential and not my circumstances. That love saved my life and motivates me to serve with urgency.
This legislative session, I fought for policies that expand affordability, revitalize neighborhoods, improve public health, and create more opportunities for my constituents. The work of this session and, frankly, years of my career culminated this week with the grand opening of the Parkview Recreation Center. This place is dear to my heart because so much of my childhood was spent there- playing, learning and developing. So many worked tirelessly to bring this project to life because they understand what happens to communities when anchors like Parkview aren’t there.
As I work to improve Baltimore, I carry my family’s story with me.
The work is not about headlines. It is about honoring legacy and creating destiny.
My mother and grandmother may never have imagined their Antonio serving in the Maryland Senate. But everything I do is rooted in what they taught me: work hard, serve others, and never forget where you come from.
So, when people ask me why I serve the way I do, the answer is simple: I am finishing the work that Sonia Hayes and Mildred Frisby started.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.