They Took Her Womb Without Her Consent. This Is How From Birth To Menopauseโ-The System Keeps Failing Black Women.
๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ.
Say. Her. Name.
When Fannie Lou Hamer walked into a Mississippi hospital in 1961 to have a uterine tumour removed, she left without her womb.
She was ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ without her knowledge or consent โ part of a campaign to reduce the Black population known as the โMississippi Appendectomy.โ
A system hell-bent on controlling Black womenโs bodies.
This wasnโt just medical malpractice.
It was violence.
It was racism.
And it was systemic.
A Black woman.
Seeking help.
Left, permanently violated.
Let that sink in.
This isnโt ancient history. This is a reminder that ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐๐งโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ฎ๐ฌ.
Fast forward to today โ and whatโs really changed?
A recent report by Five X More found that ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ค ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ฌ said their maternity concerns were ๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ. Black women are still ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ก in the UK.
Four. Times. More.
Now letโs talk about Menopause.
Itโs a natural transition, but whatโs ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต natural is the complete lack of understanding, support and care that Black women receive during one of the most transformational and vulnerable stages of our lives.
Weโre dismissed.
Misdiagnosed.
Gaslit.
Told itโs โjust stressโ or โlow moodโ โ when our hormones are raging, our mental health is deteriorating and our entire identity feels like itโs slipping through our fingers.
Every stage of our lives โ from birth, to childbirth, to menopause โ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐.
The system wasnโt built with us in mind. But that doesnโt mean we stay silent.
They tried to silence Fannie Lou Hamer by violence, imprisonment, threats but she would not stay silent in the face of racism, injustice and inequity.
Black women, stand on the shoulders of GIANTS like Fannie Lou Hamerโ-
We speak.
We advocate.
We amplify.
We refuse to let our stories be ignored, dismissed, pushed aside or erased.
Fannie Lou Hamer said:
โWe are sick and tired of being sick and tired.โ
Mrs Hamer spoke the truth. Black women deserve better โ at every age, in every season and at every stage of life.
Whatโs your experience? Share๐ฃ๏ธ in commentsโฌ๏ธ
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