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Um, this cake
says, "80 years of birthdays."
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Eighty years young,
3
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and his favorite saying has always
been, "You're only as old as you feel."
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And if that's the case, Dad, you're
very, very young... About 40.
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00:00:19,562 --> 00:00:22,271
I was born to
a white mother and a Black father.
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That laugh you hear is
my mother, Cheryl Hannah,
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and it's fitting that this is
the first thing you hear from her
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because my mother is one of
the kindest people I know,
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always laughing, always
doing things for others.
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00:00:34,243 --> 00:00:38,872
Years ago, my mom threw my grandfather
a big party for his 80th birthday.
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00:00:40,082 --> 00:00:42,959
When my grandfather,
Joseph Novotny, was born,
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00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,170
he was designated
male and white.
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00:00:45,963 --> 00:00:49,298
Arlena Tillman is my
grandmother on my father's side,
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00:00:49,299 --> 00:00:53,594
and when she was born, she was
designated female and Black.
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Both were born in the year 1924,
but because this is America,
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that is where the
similarities end.
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They did not choose
these designations,
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but were born into them.
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00:01:04,273 --> 00:01:07,149
And yet, nearly everything about
their lives would be shaped
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00:01:07,150 --> 00:01:09,861
by their race and their gender.
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My grandfather could
vote when he turned 18.
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My grandmother could be
beaten and maybe killed
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if she had dared to try
to cast a ballot at 18.
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If my grandfather was qualified,
there was no job he could not have.
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Regardless of her
qualifications,
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most well-paying
jobs in the North,
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just as in the South, were
off-limits to my grandmother.
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Grandpa could send his children
to any school he wanted.
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Grandmama's children
were sent to the schools
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designated for Black children.
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These two families,
these two histories,
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this racial classification
system we've inherited,
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collided in the year 1972,
when my father met my mother.
34
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They fell for each other fast,
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and within a few months, my
mom had moved in with my dad.
36
00:01:56,241 --> 00:01:57,992
When they had me
and my two sisters,
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my father knew that our Blackness
would shape much of our lives,
38
00:02:01,622 --> 00:02:02,997
and so, when we were very young,
39
00:02:02,998 --> 00:02:06,959
he sat us down and told us the
reality of race in America:
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00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,295
we were biracial,
and in this country,
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00:02:09,296 --> 00:02:12,465
that meant that I could be Black,
but I could never be white.
42
00:02:12,466 --> 00:02:16,802
I was born of both worlds, but
could only belong fully to one.
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I was designated female and
Black, just like my grandmama.
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And that is who I am.
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This is
The 1619 Project.
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♪ Wednesday's Child by
Alice Smith playing ♪
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00:03:03,267 --> 00:03:08,145
♪ Tuesday's child
will play in sun ♪
48
00:03:08,146 --> 00:03:11,107
♪ Wednesday comes with a gun ♪
49
00:03:11,108 --> 00:03:14,819
♪ Thursday's tears
have just begun ♪
50
00:03:14,820 --> 00:03:19,199
♪ Friday ships are
filled with crying ♪
51
00:03:19,867 --> 00:03:20,867
In the United States,
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00:03:20,868 --> 00:03:24,538
race defines our lives
from beginning to end.
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00:03:24,830 --> 00:03:27,832
Our race is listed on our birth
certificates when we're born,
54
00:03:27,833 --> 00:03:30,169
and on our death
certificates when we die.
55
00:03:31,044 --> 00:03:34,256
We're used to checking boxes to
designate our racial category,
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00:03:34,464 --> 00:03:39,552
whether it's for school applications,
or bank loans or a driver's license.
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00:03:39,553 --> 00:03:41,762
And yet most of us
don't stop to question
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00:03:41,763 --> 00:03:44,473
just how we arrived at
the racial classifications
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00:03:44,474 --> 00:03:46,685
we have become so accustomed to.
60
00:03:51,273 --> 00:03:55,026
But in 2019, when Ashley
Ramkishum and Samuel Sarfo
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00:03:55,027 --> 00:03:56,736
made a trip to the
Arlington clerk's office
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00:03:56,737 --> 00:03:58,905
to apply for their
marriage license,
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00:03:58,906 --> 00:04:03,535
they did question just why they had to
check these boxes in the first place.
64
00:04:06,330 --> 00:04:10,082
Thank you, Samuel and Ashley, for
agreeing to talk with us today.
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00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:14,086
So, when you all decide that
you are going to get married,
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you're living in Virginia,
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00:04:15,631 --> 00:04:19,133
and you go to apply for
the marriage license,
68
00:04:19,134 --> 00:04:21,427
and what do they ask you for?
69
00:04:21,428 --> 00:04:24,680
- When we go to the
Arlington courthouse,
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00:04:24,681 --> 00:04:26,807
they, basically, direct
us to go to the computer
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00:04:26,808 --> 00:04:28,935
to start filling out the
marriage application.
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00:04:28,936 --> 00:04:32,021
We got to the question where
they asked about our race,
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00:04:32,022 --> 00:04:35,942
and it just had the drop-down menu,
and it had the asterisks on it,
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so we didn't really have
an option to not answer it.
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So, I asked if there's a way
for us to do it on paper.
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00:04:43,492 --> 00:04:46,035
She had said, no,
there wasn't an option,
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and if we didn't wanna
answer the race question,
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we just had to click "other."
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00:04:50,332 --> 00:04:53,251
And so, we said... "Nope."
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And we just walked away.
81
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So, why did that stop you?
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00:04:58,382 --> 00:05:02,301
I mean... in the United States,
we check race all the time.
83
00:05:02,302 --> 00:05:07,557
Race is on your birth certificate,
race is on your college applications.
84
00:05:07,558 --> 00:05:11,519
We always are checking race,
so why did that surprise you,
85
00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,896
and then why did that
stop you at that moment?
86
00:05:13,897 --> 00:05:17,860
- For me, personally, for
somebody that grew up in Ghana,
87
00:05:18,861 --> 00:05:22,989
where I guess you could say
everybody's like me, or...
88
00:05:22,990 --> 00:05:25,408
- We didn't have to check this box, like...
- Mm-hmm.
89
00:05:25,409 --> 00:05:28,119
- Actually, to be honest,
when I first came to America
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00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,830
is when I really got
exposed to the word “race."
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00:05:30,831 --> 00:05:32,707
- Mm-hmm.
- Prior to that, if you say "race,"
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I'm thinking we're racing.
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00:05:34,668 --> 00:05:37,420
It wa... It's not a thing,
so when I came here,
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that's when all this box
checking and everything, so
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you just have to pause for a
second and think like, "Why?"
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00:05:50,851 --> 00:05:55,855
In America, the origins of
race go back to the system of slavery.
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00:05:55,856 --> 00:05:58,065
Though we may believe
that race is biological,
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00:05:58,066 --> 00:06:00,484
a physical trait defined
by our skin color,
99
00:06:00,485 --> 00:06:05,115
or hair texture, or the shape of
our lips or nose... it is not.
100
00:06:06,658 --> 00:06:09,660
How we've come to call someone
white or someone Black,
101
00:06:09,661 --> 00:06:12,997
was, actually, invented to help
perpetuate the system of slavery,
102
00:06:12,998 --> 00:06:16,627
generate profit, and
sustain white supremacy.
103
00:06:17,211 --> 00:06:20,421
And the laws that built this
system were focused on controlling
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00:06:20,422 --> 00:06:23,842
the sexual and reproductive
lives of Black women.
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00:06:29,890 --> 00:06:32,100
Take one,
marker.
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00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:37,980
- All right, we're here to
talk about a subject that
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everyone thinks they
know and understand,
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00:06:41,026 --> 00:06:42,860
but that they, actually, don't.
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So, I realized how ridiculous,
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00:06:46,698 --> 00:06:50,117
um... race is and how
we think about race
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00:06:50,118 --> 00:06:51,911
when my daughter
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00:06:51,912 --> 00:06:54,413
was asking me why
she wasn't white...
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00:06:54,414 --> 00:06:57,083
- Mm-hmm.- And, right, because we teach,
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00:06:57,084 --> 00:06:59,001
in this country, that
race is your skin color.
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00:06:59,002 --> 00:07:00,461
- Right.- So, she's like, "Well,
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00:07:00,462 --> 00:07:02,964
our skin looks white, and
Daddy's skin looks black."
117
00:07:02,965 --> 00:07:05,842
And I'm like, "No." I'm
like, "We're all Black."
118
00:07:05,843 --> 00:07:08,135
Mm-hmm.
And she was like, "Well, why?"
119
00:07:08,136 --> 00:07:10,263
So, then I'm trying
to help her understand
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00:07:10,264 --> 00:07:11,806
because my mother is white.
121
00:07:11,807 --> 00:07:14,684
So, she was like, "Well,
if Grandma's white,
122
00:07:14,685 --> 00:07:17,061
"and she's your mom,
why aren't you white?
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00:07:17,062 --> 00:07:20,147
And why are you Black, and
Daddy's Black, and I'm Black?"
124
00:07:20,148 --> 00:07:21,775
- And, and, and I'm like...
- Right.
125
00:07:22,985 --> 00:07:25,611
"Actually, I don't
know."
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00:07:25,612 --> 00:07:29,282
And it's one of those things where
you don't realize how ridiculous it is
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00:07:29,283 --> 00:07:32,994
until you break it down to someone
who has not yet been indoctrinated
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00:07:32,995 --> 00:07:34,787
- into our system.
- Right. Mm-hmm.
129
00:07:34,788 --> 00:07:36,956
- And then you see it's,
actually, very silly,
130
00:07:36,957 --> 00:07:42,253
so... how did we arrive
at being a country
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00:07:42,254 --> 00:07:44,714
with all of these
racial classifications,
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00:07:44,715 --> 00:07:47,758
but, specifically, pertaining to
who is white and who is Black?
133
00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:51,721
- Originally, when the colonies
were beginning to be established
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00:07:51,722 --> 00:07:53,973
in what's now the United States,
135
00:07:53,974 --> 00:07:58,436
there weren't these clear
classifications and distinctions
136
00:07:58,437 --> 00:08:01,022
between who's white
and who's Black.
137
00:08:01,023 --> 00:08:06,027
And so, they soon discovered
that in order to maintain
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00:08:06,028 --> 00:08:07,820
a slave society,
139
00:08:07,821 --> 00:08:13,452
that it was important to make
clear what these distinctions were.
140
00:08:14,119 --> 00:08:18,247
So, for example, a question
that came early on was,
141
00:08:18,248 --> 00:08:23,503
"What is the status of a
child born to a Black woman,
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00:08:23,504 --> 00:08:26,131
but fathered by a white man?"
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00:08:26,715 --> 00:08:32,721
During this time, white men
who owned, under the law,
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00:08:32,930 --> 00:08:37,850
Black women, could rape
them with impunity.
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00:08:37,851 --> 00:08:43,731
And children were being born who
were fathered by these white men,
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00:08:43,732 --> 00:08:45,191
but at that time,
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00:08:45,192 --> 00:08:50,488
there wasn't a clear-cut rule
of the status of these children.
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Under the British law,
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00:08:53,033 --> 00:08:55,368
which was a patrilineal law ,
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00:08:55,369 --> 00:08:59,705
these children should have the status
of their fathers, which was white.
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00:08:59,706 --> 00:09:02,416
If the children had the
status of their fathers,
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00:09:02,417 --> 00:09:05,920
then the children would've
had an entitlement
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00:09:05,921 --> 00:09:09,590
to their father's
wealth, uh, their land,
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00:09:09,591 --> 00:09:13,177
and most importantly, to
their status as white people,
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00:09:13,178 --> 00:09:17,015
and that wouldn't have
served the white elite.
156
00:09:17,683 --> 00:09:22,436
And so, the Assembly got
together in Virginia,
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00:09:22,437 --> 00:09:27,149
and in 1662, they
passed a law that said
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00:09:27,150 --> 00:09:33,155
that the children of Black women would
have the status of their mothers.
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00:09:33,156 --> 00:09:36,285
Uh, in other words,
they were enslavable.
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00:09:37,578 --> 00:09:40,705
They were creating this
political classification,
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00:09:40,706 --> 00:09:44,876
but by putting the source of
it in Black women's wombs,
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00:09:44,877 --> 00:09:48,838
they made it seem as if it
was an inherited condition,
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00:09:48,839 --> 00:09:52,425
and they also made it seem as
if Black women were responsible
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00:09:52,426 --> 00:09:55,429
for the enslaved status
of their children.
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00:09:56,138 --> 00:09:59,056
In order to justify
the barbarity of slavery,
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00:09:59,057 --> 00:10:02,977
white Americans created a culture that
treated people descended from Africa
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00:10:02,978 --> 00:10:05,606
as a distinct and inferior race.
168
00:10:06,190 --> 00:10:08,691
Many white theologists
justified African slavery
169
00:10:08,692 --> 00:10:13,447
as the natural order of the universe,
a part of God's divine plan.
170
00:10:13,947 --> 00:10:18,701
And by the 1800s, pseudoscience
emerged to support these theories.
171
00:10:18,702 --> 00:10:21,746
White physicians perpetuated
fallacies in medical journals
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00:10:21,747 --> 00:10:25,208
that stated Black people had
smaller skulls, thicker skin
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00:10:25,209 --> 00:10:27,794
and weaker lungs
than white people,
174
00:10:28,086 --> 00:10:31,589
all myths that served to justify
the violence and subjugation
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00:10:31,590 --> 00:10:33,216
that enslavement required
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00:10:33,217 --> 00:10:36,803
by creating the idea of
natural racial divisions.
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00:10:37,513 --> 00:10:40,515
As the pseudoscience of
the 19th century took hold,
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00:10:40,516 --> 00:10:44,018
the medical field used race to
justify brutal experimentation
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00:10:44,019 --> 00:10:46,229
on Black people's bodies,
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00:10:46,230 --> 00:10:50,859
and perhaps none more unspeakable
than those executed on Black women.
181
00:10:51,485 --> 00:10:56,239
During the 1800s, James Marion Sims,
created the field of gynecology
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00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,661
by conducting surgical experiments
exclusively on enslaved women.
183
00:11:01,370 --> 00:11:05,289
He operated on them without anesthesia,
even though it was available,
184
00:11:05,290 --> 00:11:09,294
based off of the racist belief that
Black women were immune to pain.
185
00:11:10,796 --> 00:11:14,799
And while Sims is widely known as
the "Father of Modern Gynecology,"
186
00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,802
history has often erased the
Black women whose bodies were used
187
00:11:17,803 --> 00:11:19,805
to create the field itself.
188
00:11:20,514 --> 00:11:22,849
Of all the women
Sims experimented on,
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00:11:22,850 --> 00:11:27,771
we only know the names of three:
Lucy, Betsey, and Anarcha.
190
00:11:29,314 --> 00:11:30,815
All these centuries later,
191
00:11:30,816 --> 00:11:34,360
the false beliefs about Black
women's pain and their humanity
192
00:11:34,361 --> 00:11:37,614
still impact the reproductive
health care they receive.
193
00:11:38,323 --> 00:11:41,242
And the consequences for
Black women and their children
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00:11:41,243 --> 00:11:43,620
are all too often deadly.
195
00:11:55,632 --> 00:11:57,383
When
I look at Cassius,
196
00:11:57,384 --> 00:11:58,885
I always see two babies.
197
00:11:58,886 --> 00:12:02,514
I can't unsee that
he has a brother,
198
00:12:03,974 --> 00:12:08,102
and I can't unsee that
he's supposed to have
199
00:12:08,103 --> 00:12:10,897
this little person
with him forever.
200
00:12:10,898 --> 00:12:13,524
Chrissy Sample went
through the devastating experience
201
00:12:13,525 --> 00:12:16,402
of losing a child
before he was even born.
202
00:12:16,403 --> 00:12:19,947
And that loss, like those of
so many other Black women,
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00:12:19,948 --> 00:12:22,784
was in large part
defined by race.
204
00:12:24,328 --> 00:12:28,539
The fetal mortality rate for Black women
is more than twice that of white women,
205
00:12:28,540 --> 00:12:31,792
not because Black and white
people are biologically different,
206
00:12:31,793 --> 00:12:34,462
but because evidence shows
that Black women do not receive
207
00:12:34,463 --> 00:12:37,674
the same standard of
medical care as white women.
208
00:12:38,884 --> 00:12:44,639
A 2019 survey of 2,700 women
found nearly 23% of Black women
209
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,099
reported being mistreated
by medical staff,
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00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:49,393
ranging from violations
of physical privacy
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00:12:49,394 --> 00:12:51,812
to being threatened
or refused treatment,
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00:12:51,813 --> 00:12:56,652
compared to 14% of white women
who reported the same experience.
213
00:12:57,319 --> 00:13:00,071
Thank you for agreeing
to speak with me today.
214
00:13:00,072 --> 00:13:03,157
And I thought we might start by
you just telling me a little bit
215
00:13:03,158 --> 00:13:05,451
about yourself and your husband.
216
00:13:05,452 --> 00:13:08,829
- I'm a Brooklyn mom, um,
born and raised New Yorker.
217
00:13:08,830 --> 00:13:11,041
My husband works for the NYPD.
218
00:13:12,376 --> 00:13:16,128
We're a modern, regular Brooklyn family
tryin' to figure out, navigate through
219
00:13:16,129 --> 00:13:18,881
this new world that
we're living in.
220
00:13:18,882 --> 00:13:23,511
We have Cassius, who's two,
Cameron who is about to be 10,
221
00:13:23,512 --> 00:13:26,390
and I have a bonus
daughter who is 14.
222
00:13:26,598 --> 00:13:30,935
- So, can you describe for me, um,
what it means to you to be a mother?
223
00:13:30,936 --> 00:13:32,228
Motherhood is not easy.
224
00:13:32,229 --> 00:13:36,859
I feel like I'm constantly
doing this juggling act where
225
00:13:37,276 --> 00:13:40,361
some days I feel like, "Wow, this is...
Who put me in charge of these humans?"
226
00:13:40,362 --> 00:13:43,990
Because this is a lot...
I wasn't expecting this.
227
00:13:43,991 --> 00:13:45,658
I understand where
you're comin' from.
228
00:13:45,659 --> 00:13:48,077
I would say I have, I have all
the confidence in the world,
229
00:13:48,078 --> 00:13:49,579
except for parenting.
230
00:13:49,580 --> 00:13:52,039
This is the one part of my life
where I'm like, "I don't know,
231
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:52,958
"I don't know what I'm doing,
232
00:13:52,959 --> 00:13:56,085
- and I'm probably not doin' it right, so."
- It's very humbling.
233
00:13:56,086 --> 00:14:00,631
- It is. I think every mother
can relate to that feeling.
234
00:14:03,260 --> 00:14:06,095
Seven years after Chrissy Sample
had, what she described as,
235
00:14:06,096 --> 00:14:08,931
an easy first pregnancy
with her son, Cameron,
236
00:14:08,932 --> 00:14:11,601
she and her family learned
at their gender reveal party,
237
00:14:11,602 --> 00:14:14,437
that they were
expecting two baby boys.
238
00:14:14,438 --> 00:14:17,190
There were so many emotions.
239
00:14:17,191 --> 00:14:20,359
Happiness, excitement.
I was anxious.
240
00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,571
It was so much love and support.
241
00:14:23,947 --> 00:14:25,948
Everyone was writin'
these little sweet notes,
242
00:14:25,949 --> 00:14:30,369
and just little tidbits on
well wishes for the baby,
243
00:14:30,370 --> 00:14:32,371
well wishes for the mom.
244
00:14:32,372 --> 00:14:35,334
It was just a lotta love in
the room, a lotta support.
245
00:14:36,251 --> 00:14:38,252
But Chrissy's
excitement slightly dimmed
246
00:14:38,253 --> 00:14:40,338
when the doctor who
delivered her first baby
247
00:14:40,339 --> 00:14:43,257
informed her that he didn't
do deliveries of twins,
248
00:14:43,258 --> 00:14:48,262
so she was forced to find a new doctor,
and that new doctor happened to be white.
249
00:14:48,263 --> 00:14:50,097
What was your new doctor like?
250
00:14:50,098 --> 00:14:52,725
- She kinda treated me like,
"Okay, another pregnant woman.
251
00:14:52,726 --> 00:14:54,810
See you in four, five weeks."
252
00:14:54,811 --> 00:14:57,021
This was a pregnancy where
I needed my hand held.
253
00:14:57,022 --> 00:14:58,606
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm pregnant with twins,
254
00:14:58,607 --> 00:15:00,733
I have a list of questions,
255
00:15:00,734 --> 00:15:04,946
and she's not reassuring
and she's not engaging.
256
00:15:04,947 --> 00:15:07,157
It felt like a checklist.
257
00:15:07,741 --> 00:15:10,451
My gut's sayin', "I
don't, I don't like her."
258
00:15:10,452 --> 00:15:12,703
But at this time, it's,
like, the world's on fire,
259
00:15:12,704 --> 00:15:14,830
so I can't really
change doctors.
260
00:15:14,831 --> 00:15:16,916
So, by, "The world's on fire,"
261
00:15:16,917 --> 00:15:19,919
you get pregnant, and then
we enter into the pandemic.
262
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:20,796
Yes.
263
00:15:20,797 --> 00:15:22,421
- So, that complicates...
- So, no one's...
264
00:15:22,422 --> 00:15:25,049
- your ability to find a new doctor.
- Everything. No one's gonna t...
265
00:15:25,050 --> 00:15:28,386
No one's taking a new
patient with multiples.
266
00:15:28,387 --> 00:15:31,556
With multiples, you see
two doctors every week.
267
00:15:31,557 --> 00:15:34,016
- I saw her every four weeks.
- Mm.
268
00:15:34,017 --> 00:15:36,769
- Which gives you room
for anything to happen.
269
00:15:36,770 --> 00:15:38,813
And I couldn't get
appointment with a high-risk,
270
00:15:38,814 --> 00:15:42,066
and she didn't do anything to help me get
an appointment with a high-risk either,
271
00:15:42,067 --> 00:15:44,110
where she didn't
check me any further.
272
00:15:44,111 --> 00:15:46,237
She would just rub a
Doppler across my belly.
273
00:15:46,238 --> 00:15:49,448
"Oop, two heartbeats. See you
in, um, four or five weeks?
274
00:15:49,449 --> 00:15:50,491
Does that sound good?"
275
00:15:50,492 --> 00:15:52,618
At about 22 weeks,
276
00:15:52,619 --> 00:15:55,162
things start to really,
physically, change for you.
277
00:15:55,163 --> 00:15:56,039
I'm in pain.
278
00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:58,708
I can't walk down a flight of
steps or up a flight of steps.
279
00:15:58,709 --> 00:16:00,918
I can't walk down a block,
280
00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:03,087
and she's aware of
all of these things,
281
00:16:03,088 --> 00:16:05,965
and it still doesn't make
her check me any further.
282
00:16:05,966 --> 00:16:07,383
She goes, "Oh, well,
maybe one of the twins
283
00:16:07,384 --> 00:16:09,427
is sittin' on a pinched nerve."
284
00:16:09,428 --> 00:16:13,265
I'm in pain, and you just
normalized it for me.
285
00:16:19,229 --> 00:16:20,938
The death of
Black women's children,
286
00:16:20,939 --> 00:16:24,609
and the dismissal of their
pain, voices and experiences
287
00:16:24,610 --> 00:16:27,613
is deeply tied to the
legacy of slavery.
288
00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:33,201
The invention of race in early America
in order to create and sustain wealth,
289
00:16:33,202 --> 00:16:37,206
shaped the sexual and reproductive
lives of enslaved women.
290
00:16:37,915 --> 00:16:42,753
And yet, their lived experiences
went ignored and largely unrecorded.
291
00:16:43,545 --> 00:16:45,755
But there are some
records that do remain,
292
00:16:45,756 --> 00:16:47,048
giving us a rare glimpse
293
00:16:47,049 --> 00:16:50,010
into what enslaved women's
lives were, actually, like.
294
00:16:55,933 --> 00:16:59,060
Here on 8th and Chestnut
in downtown Philadelphia,
295
00:16:59,061 --> 00:17:01,979
once stood the mansion
of Pierce Butler.
296
00:17:01,980 --> 00:17:07,318
In 1834, Butler married a well-known
British actress named Fanny Kemble.
297
00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,988
Two years later, Fanny's husband
inherited the Butler plantation
298
00:17:10,989 --> 00:17:13,282
located along the
coast of Georgia,
299
00:17:13,283 --> 00:17:17,287
and with it, more than
500 enslaved human beings.
300
00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:24,085
So, when is the last
time you were here?
301
00:17:24,086 --> 00:17:27,255
Probably
early to mid-2000s.
302
00:17:27,256 --> 00:17:29,966
I think maybe 2003 or '04.
303
00:17:29,967 --> 00:17:32,677
- So, it's been a while.
- Yeah, it has.
304
00:17:32,678 --> 00:17:36,222
- So, what's it like comin' back?
- Heavy. It feels heavy.
305
00:17:36,223 --> 00:17:38,767
It feels as heavy as it
did when I came before.
306
00:17:39,142 --> 00:17:41,602
Brings back a lotta research
memories. NIKOLE: Mm-hmm.
307
00:17:41,603 --> 00:17:44,397
Tryna think about
the people that were here,
308
00:17:44,398 --> 00:17:45,857
who worked here.
309
00:17:45,858 --> 00:17:47,860
You kinda feel their presence.
310
00:17:48,652 --> 00:17:50,987
Daina Berry is
a renowned historian
311
00:17:50,988 --> 00:17:54,365
who has extensively studied enslaved
people in the state of Georgia,
312
00:17:54,366 --> 00:17:56,909
particularly the lives of women.
313
00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:59,203
So, this land we're standing on
314
00:17:59,204 --> 00:18:02,290
- was, uh, called the Butler Plantation.
- Mm-hmm.
315
00:18:02,291 --> 00:18:06,127
- Um, can you just give me a
brief history of this place?
316
00:18:06,128 --> 00:18:08,045
Absolutely. Major Pierce Butler,
317
00:18:08,046 --> 00:18:10,798
one of the fathers of
the U.S. Constitution,
318
00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:12,049
was the owner of this plantation
319
00:18:12,050 --> 00:18:14,969
and also, Hampton Point
Plantation on St. Simons Island,
320
00:18:14,970 --> 00:18:17,305
which was another large
estate that he owned.
321
00:18:17,306 --> 00:18:20,308
He and his family had
operated a rice mill here.
322
00:18:20,309 --> 00:18:22,810
- And they had, as you see...
- Which is that there.
323
00:18:22,811 --> 00:18:24,145
Yep. That's the mill.
324
00:18:24,146 --> 00:18:26,105
They had almost a
thousand enslaved people,
325
00:18:26,106 --> 00:18:28,149
considering those that were
on this particular property,
326
00:18:28,150 --> 00:18:30,359
and those that were
on Hampton Point.
327
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:31,360
- So, let's just pause there...
328
00:18:31,361 --> 00:18:33,279
- Mm-hmm.
- Because a thousand,
329
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:34,447
that was massive.
330
00:18:34,448 --> 00:18:36,657
- Yes.
- That was not typical at all.
331
00:18:36,658 --> 00:18:37,825
- Right? That would've put him...
- Right.
332
00:18:37,826 --> 00:18:39,577
- I would imagine,
somewhere top 1%...
333
00:18:39,578 --> 00:18:41,204
- Absolutely.
- Of enslavers.
334
00:18:41,205 --> 00:18:43,456
The amount of wealth
that that would've been,
335
00:18:43,457 --> 00:18:45,459
uh, was pretty astronomical.
336
00:18:46,168 --> 00:18:49,170
In the winters of 1838 and 1839,
337
00:18:49,171 --> 00:18:52,840
after Pierce Butler inherited the
plantation from his grandfather,
338
00:18:52,841 --> 00:18:56,762
Fanny joined him on visits to
this slave labor camp in Georgia.
339
00:18:57,221 --> 00:18:59,263
During those visits,
she kept a daily journal
340
00:18:59,264 --> 00:19:03,477
of her experiences and her encounters
with the enslaved women there.
341
00:19:03,810 --> 00:19:06,437
How does she respond
when she comes down here,
342
00:19:06,438 --> 00:19:09,315
and sees what that wealth
has been built upon?
343
00:19:09,316 --> 00:19:11,400
- She had mixed feelings.
It's her raw, like...
344
00:19:11,401 --> 00:19:14,070
It's, it's her personal journal,
so she doesn't hold back.
345
00:19:14,071 --> 00:19:17,281
So, some days, she's disgusted by
Black people, and she says that.
346
00:19:17,282 --> 00:19:19,784
She talks about them in
very disrespectful ways.
347
00:19:19,785 --> 00:19:21,661
And then, other times,
she has empathy.
348
00:19:21,662 --> 00:19:24,247
She's worried about, "Well, maybe
I should talk to my husband.
349
00:19:24,248 --> 00:19:26,415
They're asking me to
ask for work relief."
350
00:19:26,416 --> 00:19:29,919
And, and so, you see her sort
of struggling with understanding
351
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,796
that now she's a enslaver.
352
00:19:31,797 --> 00:19:33,631
She is the wife of an enslaver.
353
00:19:33,632 --> 00:19:35,466
And what that means is something
354
00:19:35,467 --> 00:19:38,470
that I think she's processing
throughout the entire journal.
355
00:19:39,638 --> 00:19:42,640
"I have been
interrupted by several visits,
356
00:19:42,641 --> 00:19:44,934
"one from a poor
creature called Judy,
357
00:19:44,935 --> 00:19:48,771
"whose sad story and condition
affected me most painfully.
358
00:19:48,772 --> 00:19:51,399
"She complained of
chronic rheumatism,
359
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,568
"and other terrible ailments,
360
00:19:53,569 --> 00:19:56,279
"and said she suffered
such intolerable pain
361
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,905
"while laboring in the fields,
362
00:19:57,906 --> 00:20:01,535
that she had come to entreat
me to have her work lightened."
363
00:20:06,164 --> 00:20:07,915
So, this
is where they worked.
364
00:20:07,916 --> 00:20:09,584
Twelve hundred acres of land.
365
00:20:09,585 --> 00:20:12,212
This is all part of
Butler Island plantation.
366
00:20:13,589 --> 00:20:16,507
And they worked here from 4 A.M.
367
00:20:16,508 --> 00:20:22,180
They came to the fields and worked
in these rice marshes, rice lands,
368
00:20:22,181 --> 00:20:26,602
until... the wee hours or until
they finished their tasks.
369
00:20:27,186 --> 00:20:29,604
So, two of the overseers
on this plantation were
370
00:20:29,605 --> 00:20:32,023
Roswell King Sr.
and Roswell King Jr.
371
00:20:32,024 --> 00:20:33,065
You know, these
were prominent men.
372
00:20:33,066 --> 00:20:36,110
There's a town named after
them in metro Atlanta.
373
00:20:36,111 --> 00:20:40,573
And yet... we know that they
were sexually exploiting
374
00:20:40,574 --> 00:20:44,619
and sexually assaulting
enslaved women on this property.
375
00:20:44,620 --> 00:20:47,955
Can you talk about their
treatment of enslaved women,
376
00:20:47,956 --> 00:20:52,335
and the prevalence of rape, um, in
plantation societies in general?
377
00:20:52,336 --> 00:20:56,130
- I mean, there's been descriptions
of how much they were raping
378
00:20:56,131 --> 00:20:57,215
- enslaved women.
- Mm.
379
00:20:57,216 --> 00:21:00,885
- And multiple. Not just one
woman, not a particular partner.
380
00:21:00,886 --> 00:21:04,472
So, they say that both
Roswell King Sr. and Jr. sired
381
00:21:04,473 --> 00:21:07,517
many of the young "mulatto"
children that were walking around
382
00:21:07,518 --> 00:21:10,604
the Butler Island and
Hampton Point Plantations.
383
00:21:10,979 --> 00:21:13,272
When we think about
this though...
384
00:21:13,273 --> 00:21:17,527
I, I like that you asked the
question about how prevalent this was
385
00:21:17,528 --> 00:21:19,362
because, I think, it's,
it's not any amnesia,
386
00:21:19,363 --> 00:21:20,696
- I think it's erasure.
- Yes.
387
00:21:20,697 --> 00:21:23,699
- It's denial. It's denial
that it even happened.
388
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:24,909
So, it was common.
389
00:21:24,910 --> 00:21:27,870
It was so common that I feel like
we have yet to fully uncover this
390
00:21:27,871 --> 00:21:31,249
because people don't wanna think that
it was, actually, as common as it was.
391
00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:35,545
- In fact, the Roswells were so
prolific with their sexual assault
392
00:21:35,546 --> 00:21:40,424
that Fanny Kemble wrote that
she saw a number of "mulattos,"
393
00:21:40,425 --> 00:21:43,886
biracial children, mixed children
running around the labor camp
394
00:21:43,887 --> 00:21:46,722
- that looked just like them.
- And so, she saw it, and recognized it,
395
00:21:46,723 --> 00:21:51,353
and recognized those features looked
like the Roswell King Jr. and Sr.
396
00:21:53,564 --> 00:21:55,606
"Judy told
me a miserable story
397
00:21:55,607 --> 00:21:58,067
"of her former experience
on the plantation
398
00:21:58,068 --> 00:22:00,821
"under Mr. King's overseership.
399
00:22:01,405 --> 00:22:04,616
"It seems that Jem
Valiant was her firstborn,
400
00:22:06,034 --> 00:22:09,370
"the son of Mr. King,
who forced her,
401
00:22:09,371 --> 00:22:12,790
"flogged her severely
for having resisted him,
402
00:22:12,791 --> 00:22:16,211
and then sent her off,
as a further punishment."
403
00:22:18,505 --> 00:22:21,007
The Kings kept track of
the number of children born on both
404
00:22:21,008 --> 00:22:23,718
the Butler and the
Hampton Point Plantations,
405
00:22:23,719 --> 00:22:27,180
and like so many other slaveholders
and plantation managers,
406
00:22:27,181 --> 00:22:32,186
their sexual exploitation of Black
women was also incentivized by profit.
407
00:22:33,687 --> 00:22:36,314
Women were valued
based on their future increase.
408
00:22:36,315 --> 00:22:38,191
So, even if they hadn't given
birth, they're thinking,
409
00:22:38,192 --> 00:22:40,443
"How many children is
this person gonna have,
410
00:22:40,444 --> 00:22:41,444
and are they gonna be healthy?"
411
00:22:41,445 --> 00:22:44,822
And if a woman had children
that made it to age five,
412
00:22:44,823 --> 00:22:46,949
then they would consider
that woman very valuable,
413
00:22:46,950 --> 00:22:49,243
a very good breeding "wench."
414
00:22:49,244 --> 00:22:50,786
Even that terminology,
415
00:22:50,787 --> 00:22:52,371
- "future increase."
- Mm-hmm.
416
00:22:52,372 --> 00:22:55,791
- That was terminology
that was used with animals.
417
00:22:55,792 --> 00:22:58,586
- Yep, absolutely. And, you
see, when you look at the way
418
00:22:58,587 --> 00:23:00,922
in which enslaved
people were bred,
419
00:23:00,923 --> 00:23:03,633
you can look at a parallel
and find that animal husbandry
420
00:23:03,634 --> 00:23:05,384
was done exactly the same way.
421
00:23:14,853 --> 00:23:17,271
You know, just
like a big, fine-lookin' woman,
422
00:23:17,272 --> 00:23:19,190
big, fine-lookin' man, you know.
423
00:23:19,191 --> 00:23:22,610
Old boss wants, you know,
children's for them, you know.
424
00:23:22,611 --> 00:23:26,030
They just fasten them
up in a house somewhere.
425
00:23:26,031 --> 00:23:28,574
You know, go on off,
leave them in there.
426
00:23:28,575 --> 00:23:30,868
Want to breed them like
they was hogs or horses,
427
00:23:30,869 --> 00:23:32,871
something like that, I say.
428
00:23:35,832 --> 00:23:40,294
- Let's talk about that, that
word, "bred" or "breeding."
429
00:23:40,295 --> 00:23:43,756
I think my breath
catches every time I see
430
00:23:43,757 --> 00:23:45,383
- the phrase, "slave breeding"...
- Mm-hmm.
431
00:23:45,384 --> 00:23:47,760
- and I, and I kinda
don't even want to use it.
432
00:23:47,761 --> 00:23:48,595
Yeah.
433
00:23:48,596 --> 00:23:51,764
- But this is how the
people who were owning
434
00:23:51,765 --> 00:23:54,267
- enslaved people considered this, so...
- Mm-hmm.
435
00:23:54,268 --> 00:23:58,396
- talk to me about this idea
of, of forced reproduction,
436
00:23:58,397 --> 00:24:01,399
and what this place
teaches us about that.
437
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,861
- So, forced reproduction is
making sure that enslaved women
438
00:24:04,862 --> 00:24:06,195
are continuously giving birth,
439
00:24:06,196 --> 00:24:09,407
those that are in the age
range of being fertile.
440
00:24:09,408 --> 00:24:12,660
Enslavers waited to find out
when a woman... a young girl
441
00:24:12,661 --> 00:24:14,036
had her first menstrual cycle.
442
00:24:14,037 --> 00:24:16,414
They were, like,
literally, wanting to know.
443
00:24:16,415 --> 00:24:20,585
Sometimes, they would force
people to have relations,
444
00:24:20,586 --> 00:24:22,044
and they would say
that, "You two"...
445
00:24:22,045 --> 00:24:24,505
"We've selected you two to
breed with one another."
446
00:24:24,506 --> 00:24:26,841
And imagine for a
woman, and a man,
447
00:24:26,842 --> 00:24:28,968
if they have other
partners that they are...
448
00:24:28,969 --> 00:24:31,846
Consider that, that, that's
their husband or their wife,
449
00:24:31,847 --> 00:24:33,181
the enslaver didn't
care about that.
450
00:24:33,182 --> 00:24:35,057
They had... They were
looking at the body,
451
00:24:35,058 --> 00:24:37,018
the stock, the physique,
you know, all of that.
452
00:24:37,019 --> 00:24:39,896
They, literally, paired two
people up, locked them in a cabin,
453
00:24:39,897 --> 00:24:44,483
and said, you know, "Until we
see evidence of pregnancy,"
454
00:24:44,484 --> 00:24:47,196
you know, "you're gonna be
whipped 30 lashes a day."
455
00:24:47,571 --> 00:24:49,198
It's unspeakable.
456
00:24:49,990 --> 00:24:52,700
- It is.
- And yet, we have to speak about it.
457
00:24:52,701 --> 00:24:55,578
- We have to speak about
it because we haven't.
458
00:24:55,579 --> 00:24:58,247
People are in denial at
how prevalent this was,
459
00:24:58,248 --> 00:25:01,501
and, I think, to even say
that this was breeding,
460
00:25:01,502 --> 00:25:03,794
- is an important statement to make.
- Yes.
461
00:25:03,795 --> 00:25:05,546
Because the construct
of race made
462
00:25:05,547 --> 00:25:08,216
Black women's children
innately enslavable,
463
00:25:08,217 --> 00:25:11,552
enslavers were assured a
profit with every birth.
464
00:25:11,553 --> 00:25:14,972
And that assurance became
even more important in 1808
465
00:25:14,973 --> 00:25:19,519
after Congress banned the importation
of Africans to the United States.
466
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,980
With the supply of newly enslaved
people from Africa cut off,
467
00:25:22,981 --> 00:25:27,693
enslavers had to rely on a single source
to replenish their essential labor force:
468
00:25:27,694 --> 00:25:30,030
the wombs of Black women.
469
00:25:31,073 --> 00:25:33,157
The numbers are staggering.
470
00:25:33,158 --> 00:25:35,868
In 1790, the first
United States census
471
00:25:35,869 --> 00:25:39,705
counted just under
700,000 enslaved people.
472
00:25:39,706 --> 00:25:42,542
By 1860, despite the
congressional ban
473
00:25:42,543 --> 00:25:45,169
that had been in place for
more than half a century,
474
00:25:45,170 --> 00:25:49,924
the enslaved population had
blossomed to nearly four million.
475
00:25:49,925 --> 00:25:52,134
And the rape of Black
women by white men
476
00:25:52,135 --> 00:25:55,012
played a significant
role in that increase.
477
00:25:55,013 --> 00:25:57,056
Rape was so prevalent
during slavery,
478
00:25:57,057 --> 00:26:00,560
that today, a quarter of the
genetic makeup of Black Americans
479
00:26:00,561 --> 00:26:03,564
can be traced back to Europe
through the paternal line.
480
00:26:04,857 --> 00:26:08,485
While forced reproduction grew the
numbers of the enslaved population,
481
00:26:08,777 --> 00:26:11,529
the deplorable conditions
that enslaved women lived in
482
00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:15,993
resulted in countless miscarriages,
stillborns and infant deaths.
483
00:26:16,702 --> 00:26:19,245
There wasn't bed rest. There
was no prenatal treatment.
484
00:26:19,246 --> 00:26:22,290
They are, they're out here
trying to endure pregnancy.
485
00:26:22,291 --> 00:26:23,499
Talk to me about that.
486
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,170
- So, they're out here in... Working
in this... in these conditions
487
00:26:27,171 --> 00:26:30,840
as pregnant women during their
first, second, and third trimesters.
488
00:26:30,841 --> 00:26:34,510
And when we read their stories,
and we listen to their stories,
489
00:26:34,511 --> 00:26:35,887
we can hear them pleading,
490
00:26:35,888 --> 00:26:37,680
just like they did in
Fanny Kemble's journal,
491
00:26:37,681 --> 00:26:40,433
pleading for breaks, pleading
for rest from their labor,
492
00:26:40,434 --> 00:26:42,643
pleading for some time off.
493
00:26:42,644 --> 00:26:43,728
But one thing that we find
494
00:26:43,729 --> 00:26:47,273
is that they would give
birth to 8, 10, 12 children.
495
00:26:47,274 --> 00:26:50,276
They're giving birth, but the
children aren't always alive,
496
00:26:50,277 --> 00:26:53,112
so they're often giving
birth to stillborn infants.
497
00:26:53,113 --> 00:26:57,450
So, a woman might have 12
pregnancies and six live births.
498
00:26:57,451 --> 00:27:00,912
So, half of their children
are dead when they give birth.
499
00:27:00,913 --> 00:27:03,624
- Mm.
- So, so, infant mortality was high.
500
00:27:04,374 --> 00:27:08,669
- Dr. Berry, when you were talking
about the trauma enslaved women endured,
501
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:13,299
and, and how that led to these extremely
high rates of infant mortality,
502
00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:16,260
I couldn't help but think about
how Black women today suffer
503
00:27:16,261 --> 00:27:19,680
the highest infant mortality
rates in the industrialized world.
504
00:27:19,681 --> 00:27:24,018
How we are still seemingly
carrying that trauma in our bodies,
505
00:27:24,019 --> 00:27:25,311
and burying our babies.
506
00:27:25,312 --> 00:27:28,940
- I would argue that there's a direct
link and a contemporary connection
507
00:27:28,941 --> 00:27:31,484
to maternal mortality today,
508
00:27:31,485 --> 00:27:34,237
and infant mortality, and
the challenges that women had
509
00:27:34,238 --> 00:27:35,988
giving birth during slavery.
510
00:27:35,989 --> 00:27:39,325
And I think that line goes all the
way from slavery to the present,
511
00:27:39,326 --> 00:27:42,036
and I think that we'll...
We see Black women today
512
00:27:42,037 --> 00:27:43,579
struggling in similar ways
513
00:27:43,580 --> 00:27:45,582
that they struggled
during the institution.
514
00:27:57,094 --> 00:27:59,512
After Chrissy Sample says
her doctor dismissed the pain
515
00:27:59,513 --> 00:28:02,849
she was experiencing during her
pregnancy with her twin boys,
516
00:28:02,850 --> 00:28:05,893
she finally got in to
see a high-risk doctor.
517
00:28:05,894 --> 00:28:08,521
And the news she received
was the most devastating news
518
00:28:08,522 --> 00:28:10,524
a mother can hear.
519
00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:16,864
- She said, "Baby A
doesn't have a heartbeat."
520
00:28:17,322 --> 00:28:21,326
And I'm like, "Are you sure?"
Like, "I just felt him."
521
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,495
And I couldn't understand.
I'm like, "I don't..."
522
00:28:24,496 --> 00:28:26,205
I'm like, "I don't understand."
523
00:28:26,206 --> 00:28:28,417
It's like she was
speaking French.
524
00:28:28,834 --> 00:28:32,545
I was like... I didn't have
the, the words or the...
525
00:28:32,546 --> 00:28:34,463
It's like when you have
cry in your throat,
526
00:28:34,464 --> 00:28:37,425
and you have to say
somethin' so important,
527
00:28:37,426 --> 00:28:39,051
but you can't get it out.
528
00:28:39,052 --> 00:28:40,469
And I, I remember
pickin' up the phone,
529
00:28:40,470 --> 00:28:44,765
and calling my husband, and
I'm trying to explain to him.
530
00:28:44,766 --> 00:28:48,895
And she had to take the phone
and tell him what is happening.
531
00:28:48,896 --> 00:28:50,563
And then he's on
the phone crying.
532
00:28:50,564 --> 00:28:54,901
And she said, "Well...
you can't give birth.
533
00:28:54,902 --> 00:28:56,862
"You have to have Baby
A and Baby B together,
534
00:28:57,112 --> 00:29:00,323
or... you will lose them both."
535
00:29:00,324 --> 00:29:02,283
- I can't even imagine...
536
00:29:02,284 --> 00:29:04,785
- And it feels like you're...
537
00:29:04,786 --> 00:29:07,998
I've been managing life
and death at the same time,
538
00:29:08,749 --> 00:29:12,084
where I have my
baby that passed,
539
00:29:12,085 --> 00:29:14,796
and I have to keep my baby
that's alive, healthy.
540
00:29:15,589 --> 00:29:18,424
So, you have to go home knowing
541
00:29:18,425 --> 00:29:19,884
one of your babies...
542
00:29:19,885 --> 00:29:22,220
- Mm-hmm.
- That's in your body...
543
00:29:22,221 --> 00:29:24,223
- Has passed.
- Has passed.
544
00:29:24,723 --> 00:29:26,933
Yeah, I sobbed, I cried.
545
00:29:26,934 --> 00:29:30,728
I remember sitting at night crying
'cause I'm like, "I, I felt him.
546
00:29:30,729 --> 00:29:32,980
"I, I feel him. I
feel his spirit.
547
00:29:32,981 --> 00:29:35,858
I felt his kicks. I feel
them moving together."
548
00:29:35,859 --> 00:29:38,862
I wrapped my head around two
babies, two of everything.
549
00:29:39,071 --> 00:29:42,490
I'm looking at YouTube videos
of how these twin moms do it,
550
00:29:42,491 --> 00:29:46,119
and what life looks like,
and everything has changed.
551
00:29:50,499 --> 00:29:53,251
Even when Black babies
survive after they're born,
552
00:29:53,252 --> 00:29:55,753
they're still twice as
likely as white babies to die
553
00:29:55,754 --> 00:29:57,214
before their first birthday.
554
00:29:57,923 --> 00:30:00,007
If
white babies were dyin' at this rate,
555
00:30:00,008 --> 00:30:01,843
it would be a public
health crisis.
556
00:30:01,844 --> 00:30:03,970
There would be
research being done.
557
00:30:03,971 --> 00:30:07,598
It would not take all the deaths that
have happened to cause attention to it
558
00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:09,726
as it has for Black infants.
559
00:30:11,144 --> 00:30:12,937
Dr. Veronica
Gillispie-Bell
560
00:30:12,938 --> 00:30:16,566
is an obstetrician for the
Louisiana Department of Health,
561
00:30:16,567 --> 00:30:19,652
and she sees firsthand how
race drastically impacts
562
00:30:19,653 --> 00:30:22,572
the survival rates, not
only of Black infants,
563
00:30:22,573 --> 00:30:24,658
but of Black mothers themselves.
564
00:30:24,992 --> 00:30:27,159
- Hi, Dr. G.
- Hi. How are you?
565
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,330
- I'm doin' well. How are you?
- I am good, I'm good.
566
00:30:31,331 --> 00:30:32,957
Black women
die in childbirth
567
00:30:32,958 --> 00:30:35,961
at nearly three times
the rate of white women.
568
00:30:37,171 --> 00:30:40,214
Maternal mortality
and maternal morbidity for Black women
569
00:30:40,215 --> 00:30:43,134
is at a public health
crisis level right now.
570
00:30:43,135 --> 00:30:45,303
That's the best way
to characterize it.
571
00:30:45,304 --> 00:30:49,432
We know, in general, that our
outcomes in the United States
572
00:30:49,433 --> 00:30:52,852
are worse than any
other developed country.
573
00:30:52,853 --> 00:30:55,730
There is no reason
that a Black woman
574
00:30:55,731 --> 00:30:58,859
should biologically
experience these outcomes.
575
00:31:00,611 --> 00:31:02,320
The reasons for
the disparate outcomes
576
00:31:02,321 --> 00:31:03,946
for Black women's
reproductive health
577
00:31:03,947 --> 00:31:06,950
can be complicated
and multi-dimensional.
578
00:31:07,701 --> 00:31:09,493
There's a, a misconception
579
00:31:09,494 --> 00:31:13,456
that these disparities are only
limited to poor Black people,
580
00:31:13,457 --> 00:31:16,542
or Black people
without resources.
581
00:31:16,543 --> 00:31:20,671
It doesn't matter whether you
are socioeconomically advantaged,
582
00:31:20,672 --> 00:31:25,092
socioeconomically disadvantaged,
you're educated, not educated.
583
00:31:25,093 --> 00:31:29,722
The single tying string
is being a Black woman.
584
00:31:29,723 --> 00:31:32,183
- Here we are looking at
Serena Williams, in particular,
585
00:31:32,184 --> 00:31:34,560
who was the world's,
you know, best athlete.
586
00:31:34,561 --> 00:31:35,978
She definitely has support,
587
00:31:35,979 --> 00:31:38,773
she's definitely not dealing
with economic issues,
588
00:31:38,774 --> 00:31:41,192
and she still was
dealing with the fact
589
00:31:41,193 --> 00:31:44,071
that she almost lost her
life after giving birth.
590
00:31:46,448 --> 00:31:49,450
The death of Chrissy's son,
whom she and her husband named, Apollo,
591
00:31:49,451 --> 00:31:53,162
cannot be attributed to poverty
or poor medical coverage.
592
00:31:53,163 --> 00:31:57,041
Chrissy is a middle-class mom
with good healthcare benefits.
593
00:31:57,042 --> 00:32:00,211
Instead, her birthing
outcome might be a reflection
594
00:32:00,212 --> 00:32:01,879
of the unconscious racial bias
595
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,259
that is a part of so many Black
women's experiences in this country.
596
00:32:06,260 --> 00:32:07,760
Research shows that race,
597
00:32:07,761 --> 00:32:11,264
or more accurately, racism
and racial inequality,
598
00:32:11,265 --> 00:32:15,269
also contribute to higher death rates
for Black women and their babies.
599
00:32:17,896 --> 00:32:19,397
The legacy of slavery
600
00:32:19,398 --> 00:32:24,318
is so ingrained in our system,
and we don't even see it.
601
00:32:24,319 --> 00:32:26,070
So, if we think about slavery,
602
00:32:26,071 --> 00:32:29,825
and we think about how the
Black woman was utilized,
603
00:32:30,075 --> 00:32:32,159
she was not allowed to
take care of her kids,
604
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,453
she was not able to
breastfeed her children,
605
00:32:34,454 --> 00:32:38,708
and so, what has translated
from that, today, in our bias,
606
00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:41,294
is that Black women don't
wanna take care of their kids.
607
00:32:41,295 --> 00:32:45,798
When we have our unconscious
bias and our unconscious beliefs
608
00:32:45,799 --> 00:32:49,468
that cause us to not listen to
Black women when they complain.
609
00:32:49,469 --> 00:32:51,637
We have an unconscious belief
610
00:32:51,638 --> 00:32:55,099
that Black women are supposed
to have higher blood pressures,
611
00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:58,853
and we are less quick to treat
those elevated blood pressures,
612
00:32:58,854 --> 00:33:02,149
that Black people don't
feel pain in the same way.
613
00:33:02,733 --> 00:33:07,737
Biases, whether unconscious or
conscious, impact medical treatment.
614
00:33:07,738 --> 00:33:11,365
For example, a 2016 study
showed that Black patients
615
00:33:11,366 --> 00:33:14,368
get undertreated for pain
relative to white patients,
616
00:33:14,369 --> 00:33:16,871
in part, because some
medical professionals
617
00:33:16,872 --> 00:33:21,250
still believe that Black and white
people are biologically different.
618
00:33:21,251 --> 00:33:24,253
- And so, these are biases
and these are things
619
00:33:24,254 --> 00:33:28,466
that have happened durin' slavery that
have just been perpetuated over time.
620
00:33:28,467 --> 00:33:32,970
But they have, they have now come
into our, our medical practice.
621
00:33:32,971 --> 00:33:35,139
And again, bias is unconscious.
622
00:33:35,140 --> 00:33:37,892
It is not somethin' that
anybody's intentionally doing.
623
00:33:37,893 --> 00:33:41,687
But as healthcare
providers, it is on us,
624
00:33:41,688 --> 00:33:44,649
it is our responsibility
to understand our biases,
625
00:33:44,650 --> 00:33:47,610
recognize 'em, address
'em, acknowledge them,
626
00:33:47,611 --> 00:33:50,154
and start to make
differences to change them,
627
00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:54,325
so that we are not usin' those
biases in how we treat our patients.
628
00:34:01,750 --> 00:34:05,962
Three weeks after Chrissy Sample
found out that her son died in her womb,
629
00:34:05,963 --> 00:34:07,463
she abruptly went into labor
630
00:34:07,464 --> 00:34:10,174
while homeschooling her
eldest son, Cameron.
631
00:34:10,175 --> 00:34:12,803
She was just 27 weeks pregnant.
632
00:34:14,304 --> 00:34:15,930
So, you had a cesarean.
633
00:34:15,931 --> 00:34:18,182
- Yeah, it was an emergency,
and they had to, yeah.
634
00:34:18,183 --> 00:34:19,851
And so, what's that moment like?
635
00:34:19,852 --> 00:34:23,688
- I was scared, um, but I
also... I was drugged up,
636
00:34:23,689 --> 00:34:26,692
and my husband's like,
"He's here. You did it."
637
00:34:27,317 --> 00:34:31,237
And I wake up from surgery,
you know, hours later,
638
00:34:31,238 --> 00:34:35,450
and my husband took... Made the
arrangements with Apollo's body.
639
00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:39,579
On a whole, they were
just insensitive.
640
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:44,083
The chapel comes in, he's shouting,
"You need to bury your baby.
641
00:34:44,084 --> 00:34:45,710
Your baby needs to be buried."
642
00:34:45,711 --> 00:34:48,754
And I couldn't even
articulate the words.
643
00:34:48,755 --> 00:34:51,383
And I'm like, "Oh my gosh,
we have to bury Apollo."
644
00:34:52,509 --> 00:34:54,927
Cassius survived
his traumatic birth,
645
00:34:54,928 --> 00:34:56,554
but weighed less
than three pounds,
646
00:34:56,555 --> 00:35:01,185
and had to spend his first two months
in the neonatal intensive care unit.
647
00:35:04,438 --> 00:35:06,272
I think
it's really hard for individuals
648
00:35:06,273 --> 00:35:09,901
to accept what is happening
in Black women's lives
649
00:35:09,902 --> 00:35:12,987
because of the guilt
that we feel as a nation.
650
00:35:12,988 --> 00:35:16,824
If you say the word, "racism,"
to say the word, "race,"
651
00:35:16,825 --> 00:35:19,452
it gives a very visceral
response to a lot of people
652
00:35:19,453 --> 00:35:22,955
because they do not want
to be tied to slavery,
653
00:35:22,956 --> 00:35:27,460
or even think about slavery, and what
happened during the slave period.
654
00:35:27,461 --> 00:35:31,172
It is a black mark,
a blemish on America
655
00:35:31,173 --> 00:35:34,050
to think that that's how
individuals were treated.
656
00:35:34,051 --> 00:35:37,553
And so, we want to separate ourselves
from all of those activities,
657
00:35:37,554 --> 00:35:41,557
but we can't because that
is a part of our country,
658
00:35:41,558 --> 00:35:44,560
it is a part of our culture,
it's a part of our thinking,
659
00:35:44,561 --> 00:35:47,271
it's a part of
how we, we behave,
660
00:35:47,272 --> 00:35:51,276
and we have to acknowledge
it, so that we can change it.
661
00:35:57,824 --> 00:36:00,827
♪ Wednesday's Child by
Alice Smith playing ♪
662
00:36:03,622 --> 00:36:08,626
♪ Tuesday was not bad at all ♪
663
00:36:08,627 --> 00:36:11,712
♪ Wednesday came with a flame ♪
664
00:36:11,713 --> 00:36:15,299
♪ Thursday never be the same ♪
665
00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:19,721
♪ Friday ships are
not returning ♪
666
00:36:20,764 --> 00:36:23,349
Our society's
racial classification system
667
00:36:23,350 --> 00:36:26,102
that grew out of
250 years of slavery
668
00:36:26,103 --> 00:36:29,106
didn't simply disappear
when slavery ended.
669
00:36:29,648 --> 00:36:32,733
Instead, white men in power
passed new laws that criminalized
670
00:36:32,734 --> 00:36:35,236
interracial sex and
interracial marriage.
671
00:36:35,237 --> 00:36:40,659
And their blueprint was Virginia's
Racial Integrity Act of 1924.
672
00:36:44,705 --> 00:36:46,205
The Racial Integrity Act
673
00:36:46,206 --> 00:36:48,833
was designed by a physician
named Walter Plecker,
674
00:36:48,834 --> 00:36:52,503
who was Virginia's first registrar
for the Bureau of Vital Statistics,
675
00:36:52,504 --> 00:36:55,132
and a staunch white supremacist.
676
00:36:56,258 --> 00:37:01,555
- Part of the reason that Virginia
passed the Racial Integrity Act in 1924,
677
00:37:01,847 --> 00:37:06,601
post-emancipation,
in order to make sure
678
00:37:06,602 --> 00:37:11,314
that people's race was certified,
and they prove what their race was,
679
00:37:11,315 --> 00:37:14,984
and every aspect of their
lives could be determined
680
00:37:14,985 --> 00:37:18,696
by this accurate
assessment of their race.
681
00:37:18,697 --> 00:37:21,490
And that was partly
because of this fear
682
00:37:21,491 --> 00:37:25,161
that Walter Plecker
had that there were
683
00:37:25,162 --> 00:37:29,707
people who weren't truly white,
who were pretending to be,
684
00:37:29,708 --> 00:37:32,919
and getting the benefits
of whiteness in Virginia.
685
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,421
- In 1924. Not ancient history.
- Yeah.
686
00:37:35,422 --> 00:37:37,715
- That's the year my grandmother
and my grandfather were born.
687
00:37:37,716 --> 00:37:40,010
Yeah, it's not that long ago.
688
00:37:42,095 --> 00:37:44,096
As part of the
Racial Integrity Act,
689
00:37:44,097 --> 00:37:47,518
Plecker instituted the
infamous one-drop rule.
690
00:37:48,602 --> 00:37:52,438
Can you explain what
the one-drop rule is?
691
00:37:52,439 --> 00:37:55,233
- The one-drop rule
was the idea that
692
00:37:55,234 --> 00:38:00,029
if you had any discernible
amount of African ancestry,
693
00:38:00,030 --> 00:38:02,198
you were to be considered Black.
694
00:38:02,199 --> 00:38:05,785
And so, there were various
tests for determining
695
00:38:05,786 --> 00:38:07,870
whether you had some,
what was considered,
696
00:38:07,871 --> 00:38:09,789
"Black blood" at the time.
697
00:38:09,790 --> 00:38:11,916
These were not just
physical tests,
698
00:38:11,917 --> 00:38:14,585
but tests looking at
who your friends were,
699
00:38:14,586 --> 00:38:18,256
what doctor you went to, what
neighborhood you lived in.
700
00:38:18,257 --> 00:38:23,594
It just became really important
to police these delineations
701
00:38:23,595 --> 00:38:28,975
between the people who had
the privileges of whiteness
702
00:38:28,976 --> 00:38:32,311
and those who had the
subordinated status of Blackness,
703
00:38:32,312 --> 00:38:35,606
especially, after slavery ended
704
00:38:35,607 --> 00:38:41,612
because you no longer had this distinction
of who was enslaved and who wasn't.
705
00:38:41,613 --> 00:38:45,366
The absurdity of race played
out during the early and mid-1900s
706
00:38:45,367 --> 00:38:49,078
in bizarre ways particular
to the United States.
707
00:38:49,079 --> 00:38:52,456
In 1924, New York
socialite, Kip Rhinelander,
708
00:38:52,457 --> 00:38:57,170
sued his new bride, Alice Jones,
after discovering she was biracial,
709
00:38:57,171 --> 00:39:00,131
claiming she hid
her “negro blood."
710
00:39:00,132 --> 00:39:03,134
The jury ruled in her favor,
but not before she was forced
711
00:39:03,135 --> 00:39:07,347
to partially disrobe in front of
them so they could examine her body.
712
00:39:08,724 --> 00:39:10,975
And then there's the case
of Walter Francis White
713
00:39:10,976 --> 00:39:16,147
who headed the NAACP
from 1931-1935.
714
00:39:16,148 --> 00:39:18,774
Walter White used the fact
that he could pass for white
715
00:39:18,775 --> 00:39:21,611
to travel into the Deep South
to investigate lynchings
716
00:39:21,612 --> 00:39:24,113
and other violence
against Black people.
717
00:39:24,114 --> 00:39:28,701
On one trip to Arkansas, he was
discovered and forced to flee.
718
00:39:28,702 --> 00:39:30,745
And a clueless train conductor,
719
00:39:30,746 --> 00:39:33,915
not knowing White was the
one everyone was looking for,
720
00:39:33,916 --> 00:39:38,921
told him that he was leaving right
before “The fun was going to start."
721
00:39:39,713 --> 00:39:45,051
According to Walter White's obituary, he
was, “Only five-thirty-seconds negro,"
722
00:39:45,052 --> 00:39:48,804
but lived a life as,
“A negro by choice,"
723
00:39:48,805 --> 00:39:53,643
and the existence of people like him
was what white supremacists feared most.
724
00:39:53,644 --> 00:39:57,063
That's why when Walter Plecker
created the Racial Integrity Act,
725
00:39:57,064 --> 00:40:00,609
he went to great lengths to
specify a person's racial makeup.
726
00:40:01,109 --> 00:40:03,736
And some of the categories
that still existed on the books
727
00:40:03,737 --> 00:40:07,741
when Ashley and Samuel tried to
get married, gave them pause.
728
00:40:09,243 --> 00:40:14,038
So, the racial categories
in your county in Virginia
729
00:40:14,039 --> 00:40:17,041
were what we would
consider fairly typical.
730
00:40:17,042 --> 00:40:21,212
But you all found out that,
in other places in Virginia,
731
00:40:21,213 --> 00:40:24,590
there were a lot of
interesting categories.
732
00:40:24,591 --> 00:40:26,801
- Can you talk about some of them?
- Some of them I...
733
00:40:26,802 --> 00:40:29,095
Some of them I didn't even
know that they existed.
734
00:40:29,096 --> 00:40:31,055
Like, I, you know,
I knew "mulatto,"
735
00:40:31,056 --> 00:40:33,641
but, like, "quadroon,"
and all these other terms,
736
00:40:33,642 --> 00:40:34,767
I'm like, "What are those?"
737
00:40:34,768 --> 00:40:36,811
And then when I started
googling it, it's like,
738
00:40:36,812 --> 00:40:39,564
"One-fourth Black in you,"
or, like, "Two-thirds Black."
739
00:40:39,565 --> 00:40:42,692
And I'm like, "How do
you... decipher that?
740
00:40:42,693 --> 00:40:45,988
"How do you measure the
amount of Black in a person,
741
00:40:46,321 --> 00:40:48,948
and then give them a name, a
completely different name?"
742
00:40:48,949 --> 00:40:51,743
- Like, that, that blew
my mind. - Mm-hmm.
743
00:40:52,870 --> 00:40:56,873
Virginia may have been the architect
of laws policing interracial sex,
744
00:40:56,874 --> 00:40:59,375
but most states
readily adopted them.
745
00:40:59,376 --> 00:41:01,627
At some point during
the Jim Crow Era,
746
00:41:01,628 --> 00:41:03,963
thirty-seven states
had laws on the books
747
00:41:03,964 --> 00:41:07,176
that prohibited interracial
sex and marriage.
748
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,596
My home state of Iowa, with
its tiny Black population,
749
00:41:11,597 --> 00:41:15,016
legalized interracial
marriage in 1851,
750
00:41:15,017 --> 00:41:17,644
nearly a century before
most of the country.
751
00:41:18,812 --> 00:41:22,440
But making interracial marriage
legal did not banish the ideologies
752
00:41:22,441 --> 00:41:27,070
that made it socially unacceptable for
a white person to marry someone Black.
753
00:41:28,822 --> 00:41:31,657
And so, when my grandparents learned
that my mother was in a relationship
754
00:41:31,658 --> 00:41:33,952
with my father,
they disowned her.
755
00:41:34,244 --> 00:41:36,537
They eventually came around
when my older sister,
756
00:41:36,538 --> 00:41:38,957
their first
grandchild, was born.
757
00:41:39,750 --> 00:41:42,460
But through the years, I've thought
a lot about how racial categories
758
00:41:42,461 --> 00:41:44,754
created such a stigma
around Black people
759
00:41:44,755 --> 00:41:47,965
that it could turn parents
against their own child.
760
00:41:47,966 --> 00:41:53,221
Number 395.
Richard Perry Loving,
761
00:41:53,222 --> 00:41:57,225
and appellants, versus Virginia.
762
00:41:57,226 --> 00:42:01,270
The Racial Integrity
Act stayed in place until 1967,
763
00:42:01,271 --> 00:42:04,565
when the Supreme Court ruled in
the Loving versus Virginia case
764
00:42:04,566 --> 00:42:07,818
that it was unconstitutional to
prohibit people of different races
765
00:42:07,819 --> 00:42:09,655
from marrying each other.
766
00:42:10,113 --> 00:42:13,324
But the Supreme
Court didn't overturn
767
00:42:13,325 --> 00:42:18,371
that whole racial classification
that Plecker enforced.
768
00:42:18,372 --> 00:42:20,456
That structure
was left in place.
769
00:42:20,457 --> 00:42:24,460
And that's why people
found out, even in 2019,
770
00:42:24,461 --> 00:42:26,712
that they couldn't get
married in Virginia
771
00:42:26,713 --> 00:42:30,925
if they didn't check the
box for what race they were.
772
00:42:30,926 --> 00:42:34,095
- The marriages of three Virginia
couples, they're on hold right now.
773
00:42:34,096 --> 00:42:37,682
They argue the
mandate to designate a race
774
00:42:37,683 --> 00:42:40,686
violates their First
Amendment rights.
775
00:42:42,437 --> 00:42:45,481
After their failed attempt to
obtain a marriage license in Virginia
776
00:42:45,482 --> 00:42:47,316
without identifying their race,
777
00:42:47,317 --> 00:42:50,278
Ashley and Samuel joined a
lawsuit with other couples,
778
00:42:50,279 --> 00:42:53,490
challenging the racial
classification requirements.
779
00:42:54,533 --> 00:42:56,701
The couple ended up
moving to Miami for work,
780
00:42:56,702 --> 00:42:58,870
but when they applied
for a marriage license,
781
00:42:58,871 --> 00:43:01,498
they were met with
the same requirements.
782
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:06,294
So, I go online to the
Miami-Dade clerk's website,
783
00:43:06,295 --> 00:43:09,172
and I start applying for
the marriage license.
784
00:43:09,173 --> 00:43:13,885
And their automated system, again,
had the drop-down menu for the race,
785
00:43:13,886 --> 00:43:17,930
and there was no other
option on that menu,
786
00:43:17,931 --> 00:43:21,642
but to go down and click
it, and I had to exit out.
787
00:43:21,643 --> 00:43:25,354
And I remembered calling Sam, and
I was like, "Here we go again."
788
00:43:25,355 --> 00:43:26,898
All rise.
789
00:43:26,899 --> 00:43:29,108
Ultimately, the
Miami clerk's office
790
00:43:29,109 --> 00:43:31,152
found a way to issue
the marriage license
791
00:43:31,153 --> 00:43:33,321
without identifying their race.
792
00:43:33,322 --> 00:43:36,324
I pronounce Ashley
and Samuel are husband and wife.
793
00:43:36,325 --> 00:43:39,493
And Ashley and Samuel
were finally able to marry.
794
00:43:44,249 --> 00:43:46,083
Back in Virginia, a judge ruled
795
00:43:46,084 --> 00:43:48,169
that the remnants of
the Racial Integrity Act
796
00:43:48,170 --> 00:43:49,754
should not continue
to force people
797
00:43:49,755 --> 00:43:53,425
to identify their races
in order to get married.
798
00:43:54,009 --> 00:43:58,304
The end of the Racial Integrity Act and
other archaic laws that created race
799
00:43:58,305 --> 00:44:01,974
doesn't mean that the racial categories
and beliefs they enforced over centuries
800
00:44:01,975 --> 00:44:03,768
simply disappear.
801
00:44:03,769 --> 00:44:07,063
And the legacy of these laws
still perpetuate false narratives
802
00:44:07,064 --> 00:44:12,277
about Black women's sexuality,
reproduction and motherhood to this day.
803
00:44:24,748 --> 00:44:28,751
In America, race was constructed
on the control of Black women's bodies,
804
00:44:28,752 --> 00:44:30,963
often through sexual violence.
805
00:44:31,839 --> 00:44:37,469
And that violence created harmful, false
narratives about Black women's sexuality.
806
00:44:39,179 --> 00:44:45,184
- So, all of these ways of thinking
about the enslavement of Black people,
807
00:44:45,185 --> 00:44:48,938
the control of Black
women's reproductive labor,
808
00:44:48,939 --> 00:44:53,276
and the control of their
sexuality in the sense that
809
00:44:53,277 --> 00:44:56,737
not having the legal right
to consent or not to consent
810
00:44:56,738 --> 00:45:01,701
is the foundation for many of the
myths about Black women today.
811
00:45:01,702 --> 00:45:06,998
Because it was all excused by
a mythology that Black women
812
00:45:06,999 --> 00:45:11,669
were inherently hypersexual,
that we were licentious.
813
00:45:11,670 --> 00:45:16,716
You know, we could not be raped because
we were always consenting to sex.
814
00:45:16,717 --> 00:45:19,677
And so, that idea of
the Black Jezebel,
815
00:45:19,678 --> 00:45:24,599
the temptress who tempted white
men to have sex with them.
816
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:30,605
You know, these were ideas
that were circulated to excuse
817
00:45:30,606 --> 00:45:36,612
the rampant sexual assault
of Black women by white men.
818
00:45:37,237 --> 00:45:40,240
I know I'm not good
enough for you,
819
00:45:40,949 --> 00:45:44,828
but let me have your precious,
white body just once.
820
00:45:45,370 --> 00:45:48,664
The caricature of the Jezebel
was followed by other stereotypes
821
00:45:48,665 --> 00:45:52,418
that have historically served to
rob Black women of our humanity,
822
00:45:52,419 --> 00:45:56,048
and are often so normalized that
we don't even think about them:
823
00:45:56,632 --> 00:46:00,468
the self-sacrificing,
nurturing, asexual mammy.
824
00:46:00,469 --> 00:46:02,678
I can't live with you?
825
00:46:02,679 --> 00:46:05,641
Oh, honey chile, please
don't send me away.
826
00:46:06,266 --> 00:46:09,727
The angry,
emasculating, loud Sapphire.
827
00:46:09,728 --> 00:46:11,687
- It's about time you
met some decent people
828
00:46:11,688 --> 00:46:14,565
instead of that horrible,
uncouth group you associate with.
829
00:46:14,566 --> 00:46:18,402
- Get some Kleenex, wipe your nose
'cause it ain't that damn sad.
830
00:46:18,403 --> 00:46:20,571
Narrative
drives policy,
831
00:46:20,572 --> 00:46:23,658
and too often, cultural
stereotypes about Black people,
832
00:46:23,659 --> 00:46:25,576
and specifically, Black women,
833
00:46:25,577 --> 00:46:29,206
have informed public policy
in truly harmful ways.
834
00:46:31,083 --> 00:46:34,085
Well, can you talk about
the social policies
835
00:46:34,086 --> 00:46:36,838
implemented in the second
half of the 20th century
836
00:46:36,839 --> 00:46:42,844
that really were fueled by slavery-era
notions of Black women's sexuality?
837
00:46:42,845 --> 00:46:46,222
- You know, this idea
that Black women's wombs
838
00:46:46,223 --> 00:46:51,185
produce devious and
dangerous lifestyle
839
00:46:51,186 --> 00:46:52,687
in their children
840
00:46:52,688 --> 00:46:58,109
is a major driver of public
policy in the United States
841
00:46:58,110 --> 00:46:59,402
for centuries.
842
00:46:59,403 --> 00:47:03,030
But, especially, during the
20th and 21st centuries,
843
00:47:03,031 --> 00:47:08,786
we can see it as behind really
substantial policy changes.
844
00:47:08,787 --> 00:47:13,666
I mean, think about Reagan's icon
of the Black "welfare queen."
845
00:47:13,667 --> 00:47:16,502
She's supposed to get pregnant
846
00:47:16,503 --> 00:47:19,797
just to get a welfare check,
847
00:47:19,798 --> 00:47:23,593
so that she can
spend it on herself,
848
00:47:23,594 --> 00:47:26,180
and completely
neglect her children.
849
00:47:26,722 --> 00:47:29,473
Her
tax-free cash income alone
850
00:47:29,474 --> 00:47:33,227
has been running
$150,000 a year.
851
00:47:33,228 --> 00:47:36,856
Reagan's attack on Black mothers,
eventually, led Congress to pass a bill
852
00:47:36,857 --> 00:47:40,693
drastically restricting welfare
benefits for poor families.
853
00:47:40,694 --> 00:47:44,947
President Bill Clinton signed
that bill into law in 1996.
854
00:47:44,948 --> 00:47:47,867
And the tragic,
only-in-America irony
855
00:47:47,868 --> 00:47:50,494
is that it's unclear whether
the Black woman Reagan made
856
00:47:50,495 --> 00:47:52,955
into a poster child
for welfare reform
857
00:47:52,956 --> 00:47:54,832
was even Black at all.
858
00:47:54,833 --> 00:47:57,877
Born into a white family,
she became a con artist
859
00:47:57,878 --> 00:48:01,339
who used different racial
identities to her advantage.
860
00:48:01,340 --> 00:48:04,926
- From now on, our nation's answer
to this great social challenge
861
00:48:04,927 --> 00:48:07,596
will no longer be a
never-ending cycle of welfare.
862
00:48:08,514 --> 00:48:12,141
Not only did the policy fail
to save the federal government money,
863
00:48:12,142 --> 00:48:15,394
but researchers found that in
the first 15 years of the law,
864
00:48:15,395 --> 00:48:18,273
extreme poverty in the United
States roughly doubled,
865
00:48:19,274 --> 00:48:22,903
a reality that impacts
Americans of every race.
866
00:48:25,781 --> 00:48:28,407
We think about race
as being about racism.
867
00:48:28,408 --> 00:48:30,409
- Mm-hmm.
- But it's power, right?
868
00:48:30,410 --> 00:48:31,994
It's, it's who will have access
869
00:48:31,995 --> 00:48:34,747
to these exclusive white
institutions, right?
870
00:48:34,748 --> 00:48:38,376
To public goods, to things
like public schools,
871
00:48:38,377 --> 00:48:41,672
access to government,
access to employment.
872
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,423
That's really what
this ordering is about,
873
00:48:44,424 --> 00:48:46,676
and making sure that only people
874
00:48:46,677 --> 00:48:50,596
in this very rigid category
will get access to these things.
875
00:48:50,597 --> 00:48:53,432
- Yeah, that's right.
This is a power hierarchy.
876
00:48:53,433 --> 00:48:55,518
Whether we're talking
about where you live,
877
00:48:55,519 --> 00:48:57,019
what kind of job you can have,
878
00:48:57,020 --> 00:48:59,856
whether you're gonna be arrested
and incarcerated or not,
879
00:48:59,857 --> 00:49:01,649
what kind of
healthcare you'll have,
880
00:49:01,650 --> 00:49:05,279
and just in generally how
you're valued in society.
881
00:49:06,613 --> 00:49:09,156
It's hard to resolve
the stereotypes of Black women
882
00:49:09,157 --> 00:49:11,200
with all the Black women I know,
883
00:49:11,201 --> 00:49:13,411
beginning with my
grandmama, Arlena,
884
00:49:13,412 --> 00:49:16,122
who was so determined to give
her children a better life
885
00:49:16,123 --> 00:49:18,624
that she left her entire
family in Mississippi
886
00:49:18,625 --> 00:49:20,543
with nothing more
than a suitcase,
887
00:49:20,544 --> 00:49:23,839
and worked multiple jobs
to provide for her babies.
888
00:49:24,256 --> 00:49:26,757
I think of all my
aunts, cousins, friends,
889
00:49:26,758 --> 00:49:29,343
who like centuries of
Black women before them,
890
00:49:29,344 --> 00:49:31,262
love their children fiercely,
891
00:49:31,263 --> 00:49:32,388
and fight to make the lives
892
00:49:32,389 --> 00:49:35,601
of their families and
their communities better.
893
00:49:44,484 --> 00:49:49,489
After two months in the hospital, baby
Cassius was finally able to go home.
894
00:49:52,117 --> 00:49:55,870
- I felt a great amount of
joy being able to look at him,
895
00:49:55,871 --> 00:49:59,248
and hold his little face, and
everything you can think of.
896
00:49:59,249 --> 00:50:00,876
Like, my job is
here to protect you.
897
00:50:01,668 --> 00:50:03,878
And for Chrissy
Sample and her family,
898
00:50:03,879 --> 00:50:06,672
reaching the milestone of
Cassius's first birthday
899
00:50:06,673 --> 00:50:09,926
was cause for celebration
and reflection.
900
00:50:15,015 --> 00:50:20,436
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
901
00:50:20,437 --> 00:50:23,648
When his first birthday come,
it was like, "Oh, my God, I made it.
902
00:50:23,649 --> 00:50:27,068
I made it... He's
here. He's healthy."
903
00:50:30,614 --> 00:50:33,825
- And, um... WOMAN:
We got you, bro.
904
00:50:34,618 --> 00:50:37,829
- I just... wanna have
a moment of silence...
905
00:50:41,708 --> 00:50:45,337
- I wanna have a moment of
silence for, um, Apollo.
906
00:50:47,130 --> 00:50:48,131
Please.
907
00:50:55,472 --> 00:50:57,682
Hello, hello, hello!
908
00:50:57,683 --> 00:50:59,392
Like Black
women often do,
909
00:50:59,393 --> 00:51:02,186
Chrissy turned her traumatic
experience into action
910
00:51:02,187 --> 00:51:04,188
when she decided
to share her story,
911
00:51:04,189 --> 00:51:07,192
and connect with other Black
mothers in her community.
912
00:51:07,734 --> 00:51:11,195
In sharing your
story and your loss,
913
00:51:11,196 --> 00:51:14,657
and connecting with this
whole community of Black women
914
00:51:14,658 --> 00:51:20,371
that you probably didn't even know existed
prior to what, what you went through,
915
00:51:20,372 --> 00:51:24,375
what is your hope for other
Black mothers going forward,
916
00:51:24,376 --> 00:51:26,627
and the impact that
you hope to have?
917
00:51:26,628 --> 00:51:29,338
I want Black women
to know we have options,
918
00:51:29,339 --> 00:51:32,175
and your birthing story
doesn't have to end in tragedy.
919
00:51:32,176 --> 00:51:34,510
Like, you can have
a beautiful birth.
920
00:51:34,511 --> 00:51:36,554
You can bring home
healthy babies.
921
00:51:36,555 --> 00:51:37,972
You don't have to damn near die,
922
00:51:37,973 --> 00:51:41,017
and think about... leaving
your previous children
923
00:51:41,018 --> 00:51:43,269
to be motherless children.
924
00:51:43,270 --> 00:51:45,563
These are the only worries
that Black women go in,
925
00:51:45,564 --> 00:51:48,775
in the hospital thinkin'
like, "I might not make it."
926
00:51:49,943 --> 00:51:51,570
That's not okay.
927
00:51:51,987 --> 00:51:53,989
I, I would like to change that.
928
00:51:58,619 --> 00:52:01,245
I think a lot about what
it will take for this country
929
00:52:01,246 --> 00:52:03,789
to speak the truth of what
was done to Black women,
930
00:52:03,790 --> 00:52:06,542
and reconcile the
atrocities of the past,
931
00:52:06,543 --> 00:52:10,463
so that Black women do not continue
to suffer under this legacy.
932
00:52:10,464 --> 00:52:11,714
I think about what it will take
933
00:52:11,715 --> 00:52:14,759
for this nation to honor
and respect Black women,
934
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:19,765
to see us, finally, beyond the
constructs that race created.
935
00:52:20,557 --> 00:52:23,184
- What do you see as the way forward for...
- Mm-hmm.
936
00:52:23,185 --> 00:52:25,394
For healing and justice
for Black women,
937
00:52:25,395 --> 00:52:29,148
but also, for liberating our
society of these categories...
938
00:52:29,149 --> 00:52:30,775
- Yeah.
- That harm us all, really?
939
00:52:30,776 --> 00:52:34,238
Yeah, they, they
do, and I think that
940
00:52:34,446 --> 00:52:37,448
women who have been
grappling with this,
941
00:52:37,449 --> 00:52:39,492
who've been experiencing it,
942
00:52:39,493 --> 00:52:43,788
and have been the greatest
resistors against it,
943
00:52:43,789 --> 00:52:48,000
uh, taking their leadership
to imagine a society
944
00:52:48,001 --> 00:52:52,171
that is truly based in
caring, and in humanity
945
00:52:52,172 --> 00:52:54,882
and in valuing human
beings equally.
946
00:52:54,883 --> 00:52:57,552
I think that should give us hope
947
00:52:57,553 --> 00:53:02,098
that if we listen to the
voices of Black women
948
00:53:02,099 --> 00:53:06,727
and their visions for
a transformed society,
949
00:53:06,728 --> 00:53:12,733
we can collectively create
a world that would be safer,
950
00:53:12,734 --> 00:53:18,072
and healthier and more
flourishing for everybody
951
00:53:18,073 --> 00:53:22,077
than the kind of damaged
society we have today.
952
00:53:35,299 --> 00:53:37,633
It's the voices
of Black people singing
953
00:53:37,634 --> 00:53:40,887
about that damaged society
that have helped to change it,
954
00:53:40,888 --> 00:53:42,722
right from the very beginning.
955
00:53:42,723 --> 00:53:44,348
The music
was beautiful.
956
00:53:44,349 --> 00:53:48,896
Comes from a place of, of great
pain and uncertainty, but also hope.
957
00:53:49,396 --> 00:53:51,147
That there's a whole
cultural experience
958
00:53:51,148 --> 00:53:55,318
that is fascinating and
foreign to white people.
959
00:53:55,319 --> 00:53:58,321
They're drawn to it, they
are drawn to this music.
87569
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