"Momma Bear" follows the heartbreaking struggle, risks and results of raising minority youth in urban America. Dirt-poor, struggling, and the teenage mother of two small boys, Glenda James fled her rural, South Carolinian roots in a desperate attempt to find work in the northern factory boom. After arriving in New Haven, Connecticut, she realizes that her employment opportunities have fizzled. Far from home with no money, support, or family, Glenda does all that she can to feed, clothe, and shelter her children. Amidst her existing struggles, raising two boys in a fast-paced city brimming with poverty, crime, drugs, and violence becomes a challenge of its own.