iF we Are Truly invested in black girls and their wellbeing, then we must believe that they can have power and Agency over their own bodies, decisions and health.
- Jessica Robinson, Can We Be for Black Girls and against Their Sexuality? A Soundtrack
DREAMS FOR LUCY ANARCHA & BETSEY
Lucy Zimmerman, Anarcha Wescott, and Betsey Harris were three enslaved teenage Black girls who were experimented on by the “father of gynecology” J. Marion Sims in the 1800s in Montgomery, Alabama (Judd, 2014).
J. Marion Sims is celebrated for perfecting the field of gynecology on the bodies of enslaved Black women and girls.
Lucy, Anarcha, and Betsy endured multiple fistula surgeries without anesthesia. Sims, like many physicians at that time (and today ) did not believe that Black people could feel pain.
But indeed these girls did feel pain, until the point that they took turns holding each down while Sims performed his “groundbreaking” surgeries. He performed the surgeries to restore their childbearing abilities — not their health.
After all, their reproductive labor was very valuable.
Their bodies — disposable.
Their pain — invisible.
Their dreams — here.
WE ARE …
A thinker-maker-space for scholars, creatives, activists, and Blackgirls pursing “wake work” and exploring sexual health+ reproductive justice + Black girlhood + abolition.
We pursue justice in the names of Lucy, Anarcha, Betsey and Every Blackgirl who has ever felt that her body was anything other than her own.
WE know …
Black girls are reliable (Hill, 2018). We know Black girls are the best member checkers, investigators, and researchers on their own lives.
WE BELIEVE …
In the undeniable brilliance and creative potential of Black Girls (Brown, 2008). Black girls know, and be knowing what they need in their lives. It is our job to listen.
