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Website about the creation of "the “Mothers of Gynecology” monument, to honor the sacrifice of Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, the enslaved experimental subjects of the so-called “father of gynecology,” J. Marion Sims."
Author of the forthcoming book, Anarcha, which "excavates the history of a heroic, lost enslaved woman, and deconstructs the biographical smokescreen of a surgeon that history has falsely enshrined as a heroic pioneer."
Reading List (available in the Urban library!)
Black Women in White America by Gerda Lerner (Editor)
Call Number: 305.488/LER
In this "stunning collection of documents", African-American women speak of themselves, their lives, ambitions, and struggles from the colonial period to the present day. Theirs are stories of oppression and survival, of family and community self-help, of inspiring heroism and grass-roots organizational continuity in the face of racism, economic hardship, and, far too often, violence. Their vivid accounts, their strong and insistent voices, make for inspiring reading, enriching our understanding of the American past.
(ebook) A Black Women’s History of the United States reaches far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women’s lives in all their fraught complexities. Berry and Gross prioritize many voices: enslaved women, freedwomen, religious leaders, artists, queer women, activists, and women who lived outside the law. The result is a starting point for exploring Black women’s history and a testament to the beauty, richness, rhythm, tragedy, heartbreak, rage, and enduring love that abounds in the spirit of Black women in communities throughout the nation.
Four Hundred Souls by Ibram X. Kendi (Editor); Keisha N. Blain (Editor)
Call Number: 973.046/FOU
Four Hundred Souls is a unique one-volume "community" history of African Americans. The editors, Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, have assembled ninety brilliant writers, each of whom takes on a five-year period of that four-hundred-year span. This is a history that illuminates our past and gives us new ways of thinking about our future, written by the most vital and essential voices of our present.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Call Number: 616/SKL
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. Her cells--taken without her knowledge--became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first "immortal" human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb's effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave.
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Joy DeGruy Leary; Randall Robinson (Foreword by)
Call Number: 305.89/DEG
Dr. DeGruy encourages African Americans to view their attitudes, assumptions, and behaviors through the lens of history and so gain a greater understanding of the impact centuries of slavery and oppression has had on African Americans.
Princess Noire by Nadine Cohodas
Call Number: 780.2/COH
Nadine Cohodas paints a luminous portrait of the singer, highlighting her tumultuous life, her innovative compositions, and the prodigious talent that matched her ambition.
Sister Citizen by Melissa V. Harris-Perry
Call Number: 305.488 HAR
In this groundbreaking book, Harris-Perry uses multiple methods of inquiry to understand more deeply black women's political and emotional responses to pervasive negative race and gender images. Not a traditional political science work concerned with office-seeking, voting, or ideology, Sister Citizen instead explores how African American women understand themselves as citizens and what they expect from political organizing. Harris-Perry shows that the shared struggle to preserve an authentic self and secure recognition as a citizen links together black women in America, from the anonymous survivors of Hurricane Katrina to the current First Lady of the United States.
On this episode of UnTextbooked, producer Ruba Memon interviews Deirdre Cooper Owens, author of the book Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology. They talk about how America’s history of slavery and racism continues to influence medicine in ways that harm Black people at disproportionate rates.