On any given Sunday, you’ll find FraTonna Williams sitting in a pew at the Solomon Temple Baptist Church surrounded by six young faces—each one hers. Their eyes are fixed on the pulpit, but their hearts are wrapped around the woman who raised them, protected them, and refused to let life’s hardships define their future.
For FraTonna, a divorcee, the meaning of “mother” was never shaped by one person, but by pieces of many. “I was in foster care when I was little,” she said during a recent interview.
“Not for all the years, but for the first part. Around seven or eight, I was passed around from family member to family member,” she said.
The fractured nature of her upbringing became the blueprint for what she didn’t want for her own children.
“Basically, I stay in their lives and do everything I can to make sure they’re together,” she said. “They get love from me. They get care from me. They get discipline from me.”
FraTonna is raising six children: Soraya (14), Julius (11), Reno (8), Robert (6), Riyonna (5), and little Candace (2). With each child, she is not only feeding mouths, but nurturing dreams. “I want them to be more successful than I was,” she said. “To be more aware of the world and where it’s going.”
That awareness includes education and faith. Julius is already a standout student, and Soraya has made the honor roll. Their progress is hard-won, especially when home doesn’t come with the same educational software and tools available at school. “I’ve got a computer, but I don’t have the same programs the schools have,” she explained. “So I teach them the old-school way—with books.”
Homework isn’t the only challenge. With growing children, behavior, meals, discipline, and bedtime come with a rhythm that FraTonna navigates mostly alone. “Their daddy—well, the youngest ones’ dad—he plays a part,” she said, referencing Robert Sharkey. “But I’m the main caregiver.”
Despite tight finances and demanding schedules, FraTonna managed to carve out a victory of her own. In May of last year, she earned her bachelor’s degree in business. “It was hard,” she admitted. “I’d be up helping them with their homework and then staying up late doing mine. But we all sat at the table and did it together.”
Her graduation was a moment none of them will forget. The whole family showed up. “They were all in the audience cheering,” she said, her voice beaming. “It was a great experience. I think it really motivated them.”
Motherhood, for FraTonna, is not about perfection. It’s about presence. It’s about making sure no child in her care ever has to wonder who they belong to. “They get love from me,” she said again, gently. “That’s what matters.”
This Mother’s Day, as flowers are handed out and cards are read aloud, FraTonna won’t be thinking about what she lacked growing up. She’ll be too busy watching her children become what she prayed they’d be—loved, grounded, and ready to rise.
