A is for Apron.

                                       See this detail in the full comic.

An apron signifies many things: the mother/nurturer, a cook who feeds you, a servant, certain types of workers. Within these identities there are classic connotations influenced by political and cultural icons and ideas:

Mother/Nurturer: June Cleaver

Cook: Betty Crocker and Aunt Jemima

Servant: Scarlett O’Hara’s “Mammy”

Worker: Butchers and Bakers and Candlestick Makers

The Lil Mose comics picture his mother and aunt wearing aprons, along with Billy Bear’s mother. They act as the mother/nurture figure in his life, and whether he is in Georgia or New York, their presence is understood. Presumably in the role of nurturer, the women also provide the majority of Mose’s food. Additionally, the aprons could be read as part of a larger socio-economical picture that shows black women as the workers or servants to the white people in the comics, none of whom wear aprons.

Who wears an apron in your life? Does that person tie it on because they want to, or because it’s part of a uniform?