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00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:03,629
[indistinct chatter]
2
00:00:05,214 --> 00:00:08,634
CHERYL HANNAH: Um, this cake says,
"80 years of birthdays."
3
00:00:08,634 --> 00:00:10,427
Eighty years young,
4
00:00:10,427 --> 00:00:14,431
and his favorite saying has always been,
"You're only as old as you feel."
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00:00:14,431 --> 00:00:18,727
And if that's the case, Dad,
you're very, very young... About 40.
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00:00:18,727 --> 00:00:19,561
[laughter]
7
00:00:19,561 --> 00:00:22,272
NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES:
I was born to a white mother
and a Black father.
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00:00:22,272 --> 00:00:23,065
[Cheryl laughing]
9
00:00:23,065 --> 00:00:25,484
That laugh you hear
is my mother, Cheryl Hannah,
10
00:00:25,484 --> 00:00:28,111
and it's fitting that this is
the first thing you hear from her
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00:00:28,111 --> 00:00:30,656
because my mother is one
of the kindest people I know,
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00:00:30,656 --> 00:00:33,784
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 --> 00:00:42,960
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 --> 00:00:49,299
Arlena Tillman is my grandmother
on my father's side,
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00:00:49,299 --> 00:00:53,595
and when she was born,
she was designated female and Black.
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00:00:53,595 --> 00:00:57,933
Both were born in the year 1924,
but because this is America,
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00:00:57,933 --> 00:01:00,060
that is where the similarities end.
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00:01:00,602 --> 00:01:02,604
They did not choose these designations,
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00:01:02,604 --> 00:01:04,273
but were born into them.
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00:01:04,273 --> 00:01:07,150
And yet, nearly everything
about their lives would be shaped
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00:01:07,150 --> 00:01:09,862
by their race and their gender.
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00:01:09,862 --> 00:01:12,281
My grandfather could vote
when he turned 18.
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00:01:12,281 --> 00:01:15,367
My grandmother could
be beaten and maybe killed
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00:01:15,367 --> 00:01:18,161
if she had dared to try
to cast a ballot at 18.
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00:01:18,161 --> 00:01:22,833
If my grandfather was qualified,
there was no job he could not have.
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00:01:22,833 --> 00:01:25,043
Regardless of her qualifications,
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00:01:25,043 --> 00:01:26,962
most well-paying jobs in the North,
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00:01:26,962 --> 00:01:30,382
just as in the South,
were off-limits to my grandmother.
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00:01:31,216 --> 00:01:34,344
Grandpa could send his children
to any school he wanted.
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00:01:34,344 --> 00:01:36,513
Grandmama's children
were sent to the schools
33
00:01:36,513 --> 00:01:38,724
designated for Black children.
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00:01:38,724 --> 00:01:41,768
These two families, these two histories,
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00:01:41,768 --> 00:01:44,897
this racial classification system
we've inherited,
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00:01:44,897 --> 00:01:49,401
collided in the year 1972,
when my father met my mother.
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00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:51,945
They fell for each other fast,
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00:01:51,945 --> 00:01:55,157
and within a few months,
my mom had moved in with my dad.
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00:01:56,241 --> 00:01:57,993
When they had me and my two sisters,
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00:01:57,993 --> 00:02:01,622
my father knew that our Blackness
would shape much of our lives,
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00:02:01,622 --> 00:02:02,998
and so, when we were very young,
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00:02:02,998 --> 00:02:06,960
he sat us down and told us
the reality of race in America:
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00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,296
we were biracial, and in this country,
44
00:02:09,296 --> 00:02:12,466
that meant that I could be Black,
but I could never be white.
45
00:02:12,466 --> 00:02:16,803
I was born of both worlds,
but could only belong fully to one.
46
00:02:16,803 --> 00:02:20,557
I was designated female and Black,
just like my grandmama.
47
00:02:20,557 --> 00:02:22,601
And that is who I am.
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00:02:23,936 --> 00:02:26,939
♪ deep, slow music playing ♪
49
00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:29,983
[water sloshing]
50
00:02:29,983 --> 00:02:31,985
[voices humming]
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00:02:47,709 --> 00:02:50,712
NIKOLE:
This is The 1619 Project.
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00:02:50,712 --> 00:02:53,340
[waves crashing]
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00:02:57,594 --> 00:03:01,014
♪ Wednesday's Child
by Alice Smith playing ♪
54
00:03:01,014 --> 00:03:02,850
[inaudibly singing on video]
55
00:03:03,267 --> 00:03:08,146
♪ Tuesday's child will play in sun ♪
56
00:03:08,146 --> 00:03:11,108
♪ Wednesday comes with a gun ♪
57
00:03:11,108 --> 00:03:14,820
♪ Thursday's tears have just begun ♪
58
00:03:14,820 --> 00:03:19,199
♪ Friday ships are filled with crying ♪
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00:03:19,867 --> 00:03:20,868
NIKOLE:
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 --> 00:03:27,833
Our race is listed on our
birth certificates when we're born,
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00:03:27,833 --> 00:03:30,169
and on our death certificates when we die.
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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 --> 00:03:39,553
whether it's for school applications,
or bank loans or a driver's license.
65
00:03:39,553 --> 00:03:41,763
And yet most of us don't stop to question
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00:03:41,763 --> 00:03:44,474
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.
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00:03:51,273 --> 00:03:55,027
But in 2019,
when Ashley Ramkishum and Samuel Sarfo
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00:03:55,027 --> 00:03:56,737
made a trip
to the Arlington clerk's office
70
00:03:56,737 --> 00:03:58,906
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.
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00:04:06,330 --> 00:04:10,083
Thank you, Samuel and Ashley,
for agreeing to talk with us today.
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00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:14,087
So, when you all decide
that you are going to get married,
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00:04:14,087 --> 00:04:15,631
you're living in Virginia,
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00:04:15,631 --> 00:04:19,134
and you go to apply
for the marriage license,
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00:04:19,134 --> 00:04:21,428
and what do they ask you for?
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00:04:21,428 --> 00:04:24,681
- When we go
to the Arlington courthouse,
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00:04:24,681 --> 00:04:26,808
they, basically, direct us
to go to the computer
79
00:04:26,808 --> 00:04:28,936
to start filling out
the marriage application.
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00:04:28,936 --> 00:04:32,022
We got to the question where
they asked about our race,
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00:04:32,022 --> 00:04:35,943
and it just had the drop-down menu,
and it had the asterisks on it,
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00:04:35,943 --> 00:04:39,404
so we didn't really have
an option to not answer it.
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00:04:39,404 --> 00:04:43,492
So, I asked if there's
a way for us to do it on paper.
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00:04:43,492 --> 00:04:46,036
She had said, no, there wasn't an option,
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00:04:46,036 --> 00:04:48,872
and if we didn't wanna
answer the race question,
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00:04:48,872 --> 00:04:50,332
we just had to click "other."
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00:04:50,332 --> 00:04:53,252
And so, we said... "Nope."
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00:04:53,252 --> 00:04:55,462
And we just walked away.
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00:04:55,462 --> 00:04:58,382
So, why did that stop you?
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00:04:58,382 --> 00:05:02,302
I mean... in the United States,
we check race all the time.
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00:05:02,302 --> 00:05:07,558
Race is on your birth certificate,
race is on your college applications.
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00:05:07,558 --> 00:05:11,520
We always are checking race,
so why did that surprise you,
93
00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,897
and then why did that
stop you at that moment?
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00:05:13,897 --> 00:05:17,860
- For me, personally,
for somebody that grew up in Ghana,
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00:05:18,861 --> 00:05:22,990
where I guess you could say
everybody's like me, or--
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00:05:22,990 --> 00:05:25,409
- We didn't have to check this box, like--
- Mm-hmm.
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00:05:25,409 --> 00:05:28,120
- Actually, to be honest,
when I first came to America
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00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,831
is when I really got exposed
to the word “race."
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00:05:30,831 --> 00:05:32,708
- Mm-hmm.
- Prior to that, if you say "race,"
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00:05:32,708 --> 00:05:34,668
I'm thinking we're racing.
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00:05:34,668 --> 00:05:37,421
It wa-- It's not a thing,
so when I came here,
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00:05:37,421 --> 00:05:41,049
that's when all this box checking
and everything, so
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00:05:42,968 --> 00:05:46,597
you just have to pause for a second
and think like, "Why?"
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00:05:47,723 --> 00:05:49,683
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
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00:05:50,851 --> 00:05:55,856
NIKOLE:
In America, the origins of race go back
to the system of slavery.
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00:05:55,856 --> 00:05:58,066
Though we may believe
that race is biological,
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00:05:58,066 --> 00:06:00,485
a physical trait
defined by our skin color,
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00:06:00,485 --> 00:06:05,115
or hair texture, or the shape
of our lips or nose... it is not.
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00:06:06,658 --> 00:06:09,661
How we've come to call
someone white or someone Black,
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00:06:09,661 --> 00:06:12,998
was, actually, invented to help
perpetuate the system of slavery,
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00:06:12,998 --> 00:06:16,627
generate profit,
and sustain white supremacy.
112
00:06:17,211 --> 00:06:20,422
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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00:06:25,844 --> 00:06:28,472
♪ light music playing ♪
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00:06:29,890 --> 00:06:32,100
CREW MEMBER: Take one, marker.
[slate claps]
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00:06:34,561 --> 00:06:37,981
- All right, we're here
to talk about a subject that
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00:06:37,981 --> 00:06:41,026
everyone thinks
they know and understand,
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00:06:41,026 --> 00:06:42,861
but that they, actually, don't.
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00:06:42,861 --> 00:06:46,698
So, I realized how ridiculous,
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00:06:46,698 --> 00:06:50,118
um... race is and how we think about race
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00:06:50,118 --> 00:06:51,912
when my daughter
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00:06:51,912 --> 00:06:54,414
was asking me why she wasn't white--
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00:06:54,414 --> 00:06:57,084
PROFESSOR DOROTHY ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
NIKOLE: And, right, because we teach,
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00:06:57,084 --> 00:06:59,002
in this country,
that race is your skin color.
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00:06:59,002 --> 00:07:00,462
PROFESSOR ROBERTS: Right.
NIKOLE: So, she's like, "Well,
126
00:07:00,462 --> 00:07:02,965
our skin looks white,
and Daddy's skin looks black."
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00:07:02,965 --> 00:07:05,843
And I'm like, "No."
I'm like, "We're all Black."
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00:07:05,843 --> 00:07:08,136
PROFESSOR ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
NIKOLE: And she was like, "Well, why?"
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00:07:08,136 --> 00:07:10,264
So, then I'm trying
to help her understand
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00:07:10,264 --> 00:07:11,807
because my mother is white.
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00:07:11,807 --> 00:07:14,685
So, she was like,
"Well, if Grandma's white,
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00:07:14,685 --> 00:07:17,062
"and she's your mom, why aren't you white?
133
00:07:17,062 --> 00:07:20,148
And why are you Black,
and Daddy's Black, and I'm Black?"
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00:07:20,148 --> 00:07:21,775
- And, and, and I'm like--
- Right.
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00:07:22,985 --> 00:07:25,612
"Actually, I don't know." [laughs]
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00:07:25,612 --> 00:07:29,283
And it's one of those things where
you don't realize how ridiculous it is
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00:07:29,283 --> 00:07:32,995
until you break it down to someone
who has not yet been indoctrinated
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00:07:32,995 --> 00:07:34,788
- into our system.
- Right. Mm-hmm.
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00:07:34,788 --> 00:07:36,957
- And then you see
it's, actually, very silly,
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00:07:36,957 --> 00:07:42,254
so... how did we arrive at being a country
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00:07:42,254 --> 00:07:44,715
with all of these racial classifications,
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00:07:44,715 --> 00:07:47,759
but, specifically, pertaining
to who is white and who is Black?
143
00:07:47,759 --> 00:07:51,722
- Originally, when the colonies
were beginning to be established
144
00:07:51,722 --> 00:07:53,974
in what's now the United States,
145
00:07:53,974 --> 00:07:58,437
there weren't these
clear classifications and distinctions
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00:07:58,437 --> 00:08:01,023
between who's white and who's Black.
147
00:08:01,023 --> 00:08:06,028
And so, they soon discovered
that in order to maintain
148
00:08:06,028 --> 00:08:07,821
a slave society,
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00:08:07,821 --> 00:08:13,452
that it was important to make clear
what these distinctions were.
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00:08:14,119 --> 00:08:18,248
So, for example,
a question that came early on was,
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00:08:18,248 --> 00:08:23,504
"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?"
153
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 --> 00:08:37,851
Black women,
could rape them with impunity.
155
00:08:37,851 --> 00:08:43,732
And children were being born
who were fathered by these white men,
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00:08:43,732 --> 00:08:45,192
but at that time,
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00:08:45,192 --> 00:08:50,489
there wasn't a clear-cut rule
of the status of these children.
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00:08:50,489 --> 00:08:53,033
Under the British law,
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00:08:53,033 --> 00:08:55,369
which was a patrilineal law ,
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00:08:55,369 --> 00:08:59,706
these children should have the status
of their fathers, which was white.
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00:08:59,706 --> 00:09:02,417
If the children had
the status of their fathers,
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00:09:02,417 --> 00:09:05,921
then the children
would've had an entitlement
163
00:09:05,921 --> 00:09:09,591
to their father's wealth, uh, their land,
164
00:09:09,591 --> 00:09:13,178
and most importantly,
to their status as white people,
165
00:09:13,178 --> 00:09:17,015
and that wouldn't have
served the white elite.
166
00:09:17,683 --> 00:09:22,437
And so, the Assembly
got together in Virginia,
167
00:09:22,437 --> 00:09:27,150
and in 1662, they passed a law that said
168
00:09:27,150 --> 00:09:33,156
that the children of Black women
would have the status of their mothers.
169
00:09:33,156 --> 00:09:36,285
Uh, in other words, they were enslavable.
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00:09:37,578 --> 00:09:40,706
They were creating
this political classification,
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00:09:40,706 --> 00:09:44,877
but by putting the source of it
in Black women's wombs,
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00:09:44,877 --> 00:09:48,839
they made it seem as if it
was an inherited condition,
173
00:09:48,839 --> 00:09:52,426
and they also made it seem
as if Black women were responsible
174
00:09:52,426 --> 00:09:55,429
for the enslaved status of their children.
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00:09:56,138 --> 00:09:59,057
NIKOLE:
In order to justify
the barbarity of slavery,
176
00:09:59,057 --> 00:10:02,978
white Americans created a culture
that treated people descended from Africa
177
00:10:02,978 --> 00:10:05,606
as a distinct and inferior race.
178
00:10:06,190 --> 00:10:08,692
Many white theologists
justified African slavery
179
00:10:08,692 --> 00:10:13,447
as the natural order of the universe,
a part of God's divine plan.
180
00:10:13,947 --> 00:10:18,702
And by the 1800s, pseudoscience
emerged to support these theories.
181
00:10:18,702 --> 00:10:21,747
White physicians perpetuated
fallacies in medical journals
182
00:10:21,747 --> 00:10:25,209
that stated Black people
had smaller skulls, thicker skin
183
00:10:25,209 --> 00:10:27,794
and weaker lungs than white people,
184
00:10:28,086 --> 00:10:31,590
all myths that served to justify
the violence and subjugation
185
00:10:31,590 --> 00:10:33,217
that enslavement required
186
00:10:33,217 --> 00:10:36,803
by creating the idea
of natural racial divisions.
187
00:10:37,513 --> 00:10:40,516
As the pseudoscience
of the 19th century took hold,
188
00:10:40,516 --> 00:10:44,019
the medical field used race
to justify brutal experimentation
189
00:10:44,019 --> 00:10:46,230
on Black people's bodies,
190
00:10:46,230 --> 00:10:50,859
and perhaps none more unspeakable
than those executed on Black women.
191
00:10:51,485 --> 00:10:56,240
During the 1800s, James Marion Sims,
created the field of gynecology
192
00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,661
by conducting surgical experiments
exclusively on enslaved women.
193
00:11:01,370 --> 00:11:05,290
He operated on them without anesthesia,
even though it was available,
194
00:11:05,290 --> 00:11:09,294
based off of the racist belief
that Black women were immune to pain.
195
00:11:10,796 --> 00:11:14,800
And while Sims is widely known
as the "Father of Modern Gynecology,"
196
00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:17,803
history has often erased
the Black women whose bodies were used
197
00:11:17,803 --> 00:11:19,805
to create the field itself.
198
00:11:20,514 --> 00:11:22,850
Of all the women Sims experimented on,
199
00:11:22,850 --> 00:11:27,771
we only know the names of three:
Lucy, Betsey, and Anarcha.
200
00:11:29,314 --> 00:11:30,816
All these centuries later,
201
00:11:30,816 --> 00:11:34,361
the false beliefs about
Black women's pain and their humanity
202
00:11:34,361 --> 00:11:37,614
still impact the reproductive
health care they receive.
203
00:11:38,323 --> 00:11:41,243
And the consequences
for Black women and their children
204
00:11:41,243 --> 00:11:43,620
are all too often deadly.
205
00:11:46,123 --> 00:11:48,125
♪
206
00:11:55,632 --> 00:11:57,384
CHRISSY SAMPLE:
When I look at Cassius,
207
00:11:57,384 --> 00:11:58,886
I always see two babies.
208
00:11:58,886 --> 00:12:02,514
I can't unsee that he has a brother,
209
00:12:03,974 --> 00:12:08,103
and I can't unsee
that he's supposed to have
210
00:12:08,103 --> 00:12:10,898
this little person with him forever.
211
00:12:10,898 --> 00:12:13,525
NIKOLE:
Chrissy Sample went through
the devastating experience
212
00:12:13,525 --> 00:12:16,403
of losing a child before he was even born.
213
00:12:16,403 --> 00:12:19,948
And that loss, like those
of so many other Black women,
214
00:12:19,948 --> 00:12:22,784
was in large part defined by race.
215
00:12:24,328 --> 00:12:28,540
The fetal mortality rate for Black women
is more than twice that of white women,
216
00:12:28,540 --> 00:12:31,793
not because Black and white people
are biologically different,
217
00:12:31,793 --> 00:12:34,463
but because evidence shows
that Black women do not receive
218
00:12:34,463 --> 00:12:37,674
the same standard
of medical care as white women.
219
00:12:38,884 --> 00:12:44,640
A 2019 survey of 2,700 women
found nearly 23% of Black women
220
00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,100
reported being mistreated
by medical staff,
221
00:12:47,100 --> 00:12:49,394
ranging from violations
of physical privacy
222
00:12:49,394 --> 00:12:51,813
to being threatened or refused treatment,
223
00:12:51,813 --> 00:12:56,652
compared to 14% of white women
who reported the same experience.
224
00:12:57,319 --> 00:13:00,072
Thank you for agreeing
to speak with me today.
225
00:13:00,072 --> 00:13:03,158
And I thought we might start
by you just telling me a little bit
226
00:13:03,158 --> 00:13:05,452
about yourself and your husband.
227
00:13:05,452 --> 00:13:08,830
- I'm a Brooklyn mom, um,
born and raised New Yorker.
228
00:13:08,830 --> 00:13:11,041
My husband works for the NYPD.
229
00:13:12,376 --> 00:13:16,129
We're a modern, regular Brooklyn family
tryin' to figure out, navigate through
230
00:13:16,129 --> 00:13:18,882
this new world that we're living in.
231
00:13:18,882 --> 00:13:23,512
We have Cassius, who's two,
Cameron who is about to be 10,
232
00:13:23,512 --> 00:13:26,390
and I have a bonus daughter who is 14.
233
00:13:26,598 --> 00:13:30,936
- So, can you describe for me, um,
what it means to you to be a mother?
234
00:13:30,936 --> 00:13:32,229
Motherhood is not easy.
235
00:13:32,229 --> 00:13:36,859
I feel like I'm constantly doing
this juggling act where
236
00:13:37,276 --> 00:13:40,362
some days I feel like, "Wow, this is--
Who put me in charge of these humans?"
237
00:13:40,362 --> 00:13:43,991
Because this is a lot...
I wasn't expecting this.
238
00:13:43,991 --> 00:13:45,659
I understand where you're comin' from.
239
00:13:45,659 --> 00:13:48,078
I would say I have, I have
all the confidence in the world,
240
00:13:48,078 --> 00:13:49,580
except for parenting.
[Chrissy laughs]
241
00:13:49,580 --> 00:13:52,040
This is the one part of my life
where I'm like, "I don't know,
242
00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:52,958
"I don't know what I'm doing,
243
00:13:52,958 --> 00:13:56,086
- and I'm probably not doin' it right, so."
- It's very humbling.
244
00:13:56,086 --> 00:14:00,632
- It is. I think every mother
can relate to that feeling.
245
00:14:00,632 --> 00:14:03,260
[indistinct chatter]
246
00:14:03,260 --> 00:14:06,096
Seven years after Chrissy Sample
had, what she described as,
247
00:14:06,096 --> 00:14:08,932
an easy first pregnancy
with her son, Cameron,
248
00:14:08,932 --> 00:14:11,602
she and her family learned
at their gender reveal party,
249
00:14:11,602 --> 00:14:14,438
that they were expecting two baby boys.
250
00:14:14,438 --> 00:14:17,191
[all cheering]
CHRISSY: There were so many emotions.
251
00:14:17,191 --> 00:14:20,360
Happiness, excitement. I was anxious.
252
00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:22,571
It was so much love and support.
253
00:14:23,947 --> 00:14:25,949
Everyone was writin'
these little sweet notes,
254
00:14:25,949 --> 00:14:30,370
and just little tidbits
on well wishes for the baby,
255
00:14:30,370 --> 00:14:32,372
well wishes for the mom.
256
00:14:32,372 --> 00:14:35,334
It was just a lotta love
in the room, a lotta support.
257
00:14:36,251 --> 00:14:38,253
NIKOLE:
But Chrissy's excitement slightly dimmed
258
00:14:38,253 --> 00:14:40,339
when the doctor
who delivered her first baby
259
00:14:40,339 --> 00:14:43,258
informed her that he didn't
do deliveries of twins,
260
00:14:43,258 --> 00:14:48,263
so she was forced to find a new doctor,
and that new doctor happened to be white.
261
00:14:48,263 --> 00:14:50,098
What was your new doctor like?
262
00:14:50,098 --> 00:14:52,726
- She kinda treated me like,
"Okay, another pregnant woman.
263
00:14:52,726 --> 00:14:54,811
See you in four, five weeks."
264
00:14:54,811 --> 00:14:57,022
This was a pregnancy
where I needed my hand held.
265
00:14:57,022 --> 00:14:58,607
- Mm-hmm.
- I'm pregnant with twins,
266
00:14:58,607 --> 00:15:00,734
I have a list of questions,
267
00:15:00,734 --> 00:15:04,947
and she's not reassuring
and she's not engaging.
268
00:15:04,947 --> 00:15:07,157
It felt like a checklist.
269
00:15:07,741 --> 00:15:10,452
My gut's sayin',
"I don't, I don't like her."
270
00:15:10,452 --> 00:15:12,704
But at this time,
it's, like, the world's on fire,
271
00:15:12,704 --> 00:15:14,831
so I can't really change doctors.
272
00:15:14,831 --> 00:15:16,917
So, by, "The world's on fire,"
273
00:15:16,917 --> 00:15:19,920
you get pregnant,
and then we enter into the pandemic.
274
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:20,796
Yes.
275
00:15:20,796 --> 00:15:22,422
- So, that complicates...
- So, no one's--
276
00:15:22,422 --> 00:15:25,050
- ...your ability to find a new doctor.
- Everything. No one's gonna t--
277
00:15:25,050 --> 00:15:28,387
No one's taking
a new patient with multiples.
278
00:15:28,387 --> 00:15:31,557
With multiples, you see
two doctors every week.
279
00:15:31,557 --> 00:15:34,017
- I saw her every four weeks.
- Mm.
280
00:15:34,017 --> 00:15:36,770
- Which gives you room
for anything to happen.
281
00:15:36,770 --> 00:15:38,814
And I couldn't get
appointment with a high-risk,
282
00:15:38,814 --> 00:15:42,067
and she didn't do anything to help me get
an appointment with a high-risk either,
283
00:15:42,067 --> 00:15:44,111
where she didn't check me any further.
284
00:15:44,111 --> 00:15:46,238
She would just rub
a Doppler across my belly.
285
00:15:46,238 --> 00:15:49,449
"Oop, two heartbeats.
See you in, um, four or five weeks?
286
00:15:49,449 --> 00:15:50,492
Does that sound good?"
287
00:15:50,492 --> 00:15:52,619
At about 22 weeks,
288
00:15:52,619 --> 00:15:55,163
things start to really,
physically, change for you.
289
00:15:55,163 --> 00:15:56,039
I'm in pain.
290
00:15:56,039 --> 00:15:58,709
I can't walk down a flight of steps
or up a flight of steps.
291
00:15:58,709 --> 00:16:00,919
I can't walk down a block,
292
00:16:00,919 --> 00:16:03,088
and she's aware of all of these things,
293
00:16:03,088 --> 00:16:05,966
and it still doesn't make her
check me any further.
294
00:16:05,966 --> 00:16:07,384
She goes,
"Oh, well, maybe one of the twins
295
00:16:07,384 --> 00:16:09,428
is sittin' on a pinched nerve."
296
00:16:09,428 --> 00:16:13,265
I'm in pain,
and you just normalized it for me.
297
00:16:14,266 --> 00:16:16,268
♪
298
00:16:19,229 --> 00:16:20,939
NIKOLE:
The death of Black women's children,
299
00:16:20,939 --> 00:16:24,610
and the dismissal of their pain,
voices and experiences
300
00:16:24,610 --> 00:16:27,613
is deeply tied to the legacy of slavery.
301
00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:33,202
The invention of race in early America
in order to create and sustain wealth,
302
00:16:33,202 --> 00:16:37,206
shaped the sexual and reproductive
lives of enslaved women.
303
00:16:37,915 --> 00:16:42,753
And yet, their lived experiences
went ignored and largely unrecorded.
304
00:16:43,545 --> 00:16:45,756
But there are some records that do remain,
305
00:16:45,756 --> 00:16:47,049
giving us a rare glimpse
306
00:16:47,049 --> 00:16:50,010
into what enslaved women's
lives were, actually, like.
307
00:16:52,471 --> 00:16:54,473
♪
308
00:16:55,933 --> 00:16:59,061
Here on 8th and Chestnut
in downtown Philadelphia,
309
00:16:59,061 --> 00:17:01,980
once stood the mansion of Pierce Butler.
310
00:17:01,980 --> 00:17:07,319
In 1834, Butler married a well-known
British actress named Fanny Kemble.
311
00:17:07,319 --> 00:17:10,989
Two years later, Fanny's husband
inherited the Butler plantation
312
00:17:10,989 --> 00:17:13,283
located along the coast of Georgia,
313
00:17:13,283 --> 00:17:17,287
and with it, more than
500 enslaved human beings.
314
00:17:21,625 --> 00:17:24,086
So, when is the last time you were here?
315
00:17:24,086 --> 00:17:27,256
DR. DAINA BERRY:
Probably early to mid-2000s.
316
00:17:27,256 --> 00:17:29,967
I think maybe 2003 or '04.
317
00:17:29,967 --> 00:17:32,678
- So, it's been a while.
- Yeah, it has.
318
00:17:32,678 --> 00:17:36,223
- So, what's it like comin' back?
- [sighs] Heavy. It feels heavy.
319
00:17:36,223 --> 00:17:38,767
It feels as heavy as it did
when I came before.
320
00:17:39,142 --> 00:17:41,603
Brings back a lotta research memories.
NIKOLE: Mm-hmm.
321
00:17:41,603 --> 00:17:44,398
DR. BERRY:
Tryna think about
the people that were here,
322
00:17:44,398 --> 00:17:45,858
who worked here.
323
00:17:45,858 --> 00:17:47,860
You kinda feel their presence.
324
00:17:48,652 --> 00:17:50,988
NIKOLE:
Daina Berry is a renowned historian
325
00:17:50,988 --> 00:17:54,366
who has extensively studied
enslaved people in the state of Georgia,
326
00:17:54,366 --> 00:17:56,910
particularly the lives of women.
327
00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:59,204
So, this land we're standing on
328
00:17:59,204 --> 00:18:02,291
- was, uh, called the Butler Plantation.
- Mm-hmm.
329
00:18:02,291 --> 00:18:06,128
- Um, can you just give me
a brief history of this place?
330
00:18:06,128 --> 00:18:08,046
Absolutely. Major Pierce Butler,
331
00:18:08,046 --> 00:18:10,799
one of the fathers
of the U.S. Constitution,
332
00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:12,050
was the owner of this plantation
333
00:18:12,050 --> 00:18:14,970
and also, Hampton Point Plantation
on St. Simons Island,
334
00:18:14,970 --> 00:18:17,306
which was another
large estate that he owned.
335
00:18:17,306 --> 00:18:20,309
He and his family
had operated a rice mill here.
336
00:18:20,309 --> 00:18:22,811
- And they had, as you see--
- Which is that there.
337
00:18:22,811 --> 00:18:24,146
Yep. That's the mill.
338
00:18:24,146 --> 00:18:26,106
They had almost
a thousand enslaved people,
339
00:18:26,106 --> 00:18:28,150
considering those that were
on this particular property,
340
00:18:28,150 --> 00:18:30,360
and those that were on Hampton Point.
341
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:31,361
- So, let's just pause there--
342
00:18:31,361 --> 00:18:33,280
- Mm-hmm.
- because a thousand,
343
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:34,448
that was massive.
344
00:18:34,448 --> 00:18:36,658
- Yes.
- That was not typical at all.
345
00:18:36,658 --> 00:18:37,826
- Right? That would've put him--
- Right.
346
00:18:37,826 --> 00:18:39,578
- I would imagine, somewhere top 1%--
347
00:18:39,578 --> 00:18:41,205
- Absolutely.
- of enslavers.
348
00:18:41,205 --> 00:18:43,457
The amount of wealth
that that would've been,
349
00:18:43,457 --> 00:18:45,459
uh, was pretty astronomical.
350
00:18:46,168 --> 00:18:49,171
In the winters of 1838 and 1839,
351
00:18:49,171 --> 00:18:52,841
after Pierce Butler inherited
the plantation from his grandfather,
352
00:18:52,841 --> 00:18:56,762
Fanny joined him on visits
to this slave labor camp in Georgia.
353
00:18:57,221 --> 00:18:59,264
During those visits,
she kept a daily journal
354
00:18:59,264 --> 00:19:03,477
of her experiences and her encounters
with the enslaved women there.
355
00:19:03,810 --> 00:19:06,438
How does she respond
when she comes down here,
356
00:19:06,438 --> 00:19:09,316
and sees what that wealth
has been built upon?
357
00:19:09,316 --> 00:19:11,401
- She had mixed feelings.
It's her raw, like--
358
00:19:11,401 --> 00:19:14,071
It's, it's her personal journal,
so she doesn't hold back.
359
00:19:14,071 --> 00:19:17,282
So, some days, she's disgusted
by Black people, and she says that.
360
00:19:17,282 --> 00:19:19,785
She talks about them
in very disrespectful ways.
361
00:19:19,785 --> 00:19:21,662
And then, other times, she has empathy.
362
00:19:21,662 --> 00:19:24,248
She's worried about,
"Well, maybe I should talk to my husband.
363
00:19:24,248 --> 00:19:26,416
They're asking me to ask for work relief."
364
00:19:26,416 --> 00:19:29,920
And, and so, you see her
sort of struggling with understanding
365
00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:31,797
that now she's a enslaver.
366
00:19:31,797 --> 00:19:33,632
She is the wife of an enslaver.
367
00:19:33,632 --> 00:19:35,467
And what that means is something
368
00:19:35,467 --> 00:19:38,470
that I think she's processing
throughout the entire journal.
369
00:19:39,638 --> 00:19:42,641
FANNY KEMBLE:
"I have been interrupted
by several visits,
370
00:19:42,641 --> 00:19:44,935
"one from a poor creature called Judy,
371
00:19:44,935 --> 00:19:48,772
"whose sad story and condition
affected me most painfully.
372
00:19:48,772 --> 00:19:51,400
"She complained of chronic rheumatism,
373
00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:53,569
"and other terrible ailments,
374
00:19:53,569 --> 00:19:56,280
"and said she suffered
such intolerable pain
375
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,906
"while laboring in the fields,
376
00:19:57,906 --> 00:20:01,535
that she had come to entreat me
to have her work lightened."
377
00:20:02,536 --> 00:20:04,496
♪
378
00:20:06,164 --> 00:20:07,916
DR. BERRY:
So, this is where they worked.
379
00:20:07,916 --> 00:20:09,585
Twelve hundred acres of land.
380
00:20:09,585 --> 00:20:12,212
This is all part
of Butler Island plantation.
381
00:20:13,589 --> 00:20:16,508
And they worked here from 4 A.M.
382
00:20:16,508 --> 00:20:22,181
They came to the fields and worked
in these rice marshes, rice lands,
383
00:20:22,181 --> 00:20:26,602
until... the wee hours
or until they finished their tasks.
384
00:20:27,186 --> 00:20:29,605
NIKOLE:
So, two of the overseers
on this plantation were
385
00:20:29,605 --> 00:20:32,024
Roswell King Sr. and Roswell King Jr.
386
00:20:32,024 --> 00:20:33,066
You know, these were prominent men.
387
00:20:33,066 --> 00:20:36,111
There's a town named
after them in metro Atlanta.
388
00:20:36,111 --> 00:20:40,574
And yet... we know
that they were sexually exploiting
389
00:20:40,574 --> 00:20:44,620
and sexually assaulting
enslaved women on this property.
390
00:20:44,620 --> 00:20:47,956
Can you talk about their
treatment of enslaved women,
391
00:20:47,956 --> 00:20:52,336
and the prevalence of rape, um,
in plantation societies in general?
392
00:20:52,336 --> 00:20:56,131
- I mean, there's been descriptions
of how much they were raping
393
00:20:56,131 --> 00:20:57,216
- enslaved women.
- Mm.
394
00:20:57,216 --> 00:21:00,886
- And multiple. Not just one woman,
not a particular partner.
395
00:21:00,886 --> 00:21:04,473
So, they say that both
Roswell King Sr. and Jr. sired
396
00:21:04,473 --> 00:21:07,518
many of the young "mulatto" children
that were walking around
397
00:21:07,518 --> 00:21:10,604
the Butler Island
and Hampton Point Plantations.
398
00:21:10,979 --> 00:21:13,273
When we think about this though--
399
00:21:13,273 --> 00:21:17,528
I, I like that you asked the question
about how prevalent this was
400
00:21:17,528 --> 00:21:19,363
because, I think,
it's, it's not any amnesia,
401
00:21:19,363 --> 00:21:20,697
- I think it's erasure.
- Yes.
402
00:21:20,697 --> 00:21:23,700
- It's denial.
It's denial that it even happened.
403
00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:24,910
So, it was common.
404
00:21:24,910 --> 00:21:27,871
It was so common that I feel like
we have yet to fully uncover this
405
00:21:27,871 --> 00:21:31,250
because people don't wanna think that it
was, actually, as common as it was.
406
00:21:31,250 --> 00:21:35,546
- In fact, the Roswells were
so prolific with their sexual assault
407
00:21:35,546 --> 00:21:40,425
that Fanny Kemble wrote
that she saw a number of "mulattos,"
408
00:21:40,425 --> 00:21:43,887
biracial children, mixed children
running around the labor camp
409
00:21:43,887 --> 00:21:46,723
- that looked just like them.
- And so, she saw it, and recognized it,
410
00:21:46,723 --> 00:21:51,353
and recognized those features
looked like the Roswell King Jr. and Sr.
411
00:21:53,564 --> 00:21:55,607
FANNY:
"Judy told me a miserable story
412
00:21:55,607 --> 00:21:58,068
"of her former experience
on the plantation
413
00:21:58,068 --> 00:22:00,821
"under Mr. King's overseership.
414
00:22:01,405 --> 00:22:04,616
"It seems that Jem Valiant
was her firstborn,
415
00:22:06,034 --> 00:22:09,371
"the son of Mr. King, who forced her,
416
00:22:09,371 --> 00:22:12,791
"flogged her severely
for having resisted him,
417
00:22:12,791 --> 00:22:16,211
and then sent her off,
as a further punishment."
418
00:22:18,505 --> 00:22:21,008
NIKOLE:
The Kings kept track
of the number of children born on both
419
00:22:21,008 --> 00:22:23,719
the Butler
and the Hampton Point Plantations,
420
00:22:23,719 --> 00:22:27,181
and like so many other
slaveholders and plantation managers,
421
00:22:27,181 --> 00:22:32,186
their sexual exploitation of Black women
was also incentivized by profit.
422
00:22:33,687 --> 00:22:36,315
DR. BERRY:
Women were valued
based on their future increase.
423
00:22:36,315 --> 00:22:38,192
So, even if they hadn't
given birth, they're thinking,
424
00:22:38,192 --> 00:22:40,444
"How many children is
this person gonna have,
425
00:22:40,444 --> 00:22:41,445
and are they gonna be healthy?"
426
00:22:41,445 --> 00:22:44,823
And if a woman had children
that made it to age five,
427
00:22:44,823 --> 00:22:46,950
then they would consider
that woman very valuable,
428
00:22:46,950 --> 00:22:49,244
a very good breeding "wench."
429
00:22:49,244 --> 00:22:50,787
NIKOLE:
Even that terminology,
430
00:22:50,787 --> 00:22:52,372
- "future increase."
- Mm-hmm.
431
00:22:52,372 --> 00:22:55,792
- That was terminology
that was used with animals.
432
00:22:55,792 --> 00:22:58,587
- Yep, absolutely.
And, you see, when you look at the way
433
00:22:58,587 --> 00:23:00,923
in which enslaved people were bred,
434
00:23:00,923 --> 00:23:03,634
you can look at a parallel
and find that animal husbandry
435
00:23:03,634 --> 00:23:05,385
was done exactly the same way.
436
00:23:05,385 --> 00:23:07,387
♪
437
00:23:14,853 --> 00:23:17,272
LAURA SMALLEY:
You know, just like
a big, fine-lookin' woman,
438
00:23:17,272 --> 00:23:19,191
big, fine-lookin' man, you know.
439
00:23:19,191 --> 00:23:22,611
Old boss wants, you know,
children's for them, you know.
440
00:23:22,611 --> 00:23:26,031
They just fasten them up
in a house somewhere.
441
00:23:26,031 --> 00:23:28,575
You know, go on off, leave them in there.
442
00:23:28,575 --> 00:23:30,869
Want to breed them like
they was hogs or horses,
443
00:23:30,869 --> 00:23:32,871
something like that, I say.
444
00:23:35,832 --> 00:23:40,295
- Let's talk about that,
that word, "bred" or "breeding."
445
00:23:40,295 --> 00:23:43,757
I think my breath catches every time I see
446
00:23:43,757 --> 00:23:45,384
- the phrase, "slave breeding"--
- Mm-hmm.
447
00:23:45,384 --> 00:23:47,761
- and I, and I kinda don't
even want to use it.
448
00:23:47,761 --> 00:23:48,595
Yeah.
449
00:23:48,595 --> 00:23:51,765
- But this is how
the people who were owning
450
00:23:51,765 --> 00:23:54,268
- enslaved people considered this, so--
- Mm-hmm.
451
00:23:54,268 --> 00:23:58,397
- talk to me about this idea
of, of forced reproduction,
452
00:23:58,397 --> 00:24:01,400
and what this place teaches us about that.
453
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,862
- So, forced reproduction
is making sure that enslaved women
454
00:24:04,862 --> 00:24:06,196
are continuously giving birth,
455
00:24:06,196 --> 00:24:09,408
those that are
in the age range of being fertile.
456
00:24:09,408 --> 00:24:12,661
Enslavers waited to find out
when a woman-- a young girl
457
00:24:12,661 --> 00:24:14,037
had her first menstrual cycle.
458
00:24:14,037 --> 00:24:16,415
They were, like,
literally, wanting to know.
459
00:24:16,415 --> 00:24:20,586
Sometimes, they would
force people to have relations,
460
00:24:20,586 --> 00:24:22,045
and they would say that, "You two"--
461
00:24:22,045 --> 00:24:24,506
"We've selected you two
to breed with one another."
462
00:24:24,506 --> 00:24:26,842
And imagine for a woman, and a man,
463
00:24:26,842 --> 00:24:28,969
if they have other
partners that they are--
464
00:24:28,969 --> 00:24:31,847
consider that, that, that's
their husband or their wife,
465
00:24:31,847 --> 00:24:33,182
the enslaver didn't care about that.
466
00:24:33,182 --> 00:24:35,058
They had-- They were looking at the body,
467
00:24:35,058 --> 00:24:37,019
the stock, the physique,
you know, all of that.
468
00:24:37,019 --> 00:24:39,897
They, literally, paired two people up,
locked them in a cabin,
469
00:24:39,897 --> 00:24:44,484
and said, you know,
"Until we see evidence of pregnancy,"
470
00:24:44,484 --> 00:24:47,196
you know, "you're gonna
be whipped 30 lashes a day."
471
00:24:47,571 --> 00:24:49,198
It's unspeakable.
472
00:24:49,990 --> 00:24:52,701
- It is.
- And yet, we have to speak about it.
473
00:24:52,701 --> 00:24:55,579
- We have to speak about it
because we haven't.
474
00:24:55,579 --> 00:24:58,248
People are in denial
at how prevalent this was,
475
00:24:58,248 --> 00:25:01,502
and, I think, to even say
that this was breeding,
476
00:25:01,502 --> 00:25:03,795
- is an important statement to make.
- Yes.
477
00:25:03,795 --> 00:25:05,547
Because the construct of race made
478
00:25:05,547 --> 00:25:08,217
Black women's children
innately enslavable,
479
00:25:08,217 --> 00:25:11,553
enslavers were assured
a profit with every birth.
480
00:25:11,553 --> 00:25:14,973
And that assurance became
even more important in 1808
481
00:25:14,973 --> 00:25:19,520
after Congress banned the importation
of Africans to the United States.
482
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,981
With the supply of newly enslaved
people from Africa cut off,
483
00:25:22,981 --> 00:25:27,694
enslavers had to rely on a single source
to replenish their essential labor force:
484
00:25:27,694 --> 00:25:30,030
the wombs of Black women.
485
00:25:31,073 --> 00:25:33,158
The numbers are staggering.
486
00:25:33,158 --> 00:25:35,869
In 1790, the first United States census
487
00:25:35,869 --> 00:25:39,706
counted just under
700,000 enslaved people.
488
00:25:39,706 --> 00:25:42,543
By 1860, despite the congressional ban
489
00:25:42,543 --> 00:25:45,170
that had been in place
for more than half a century,
490
00:25:45,170 --> 00:25:49,925
the enslaved population
had blossomed to nearly four million.
491
00:25:49,925 --> 00:25:52,135
And the rape of Black women by white men
492
00:25:52,135 --> 00:25:55,013
played a significant role
in that increase.
493
00:25:55,013 --> 00:25:57,057
Rape was so prevalent during slavery,
494
00:25:57,057 --> 00:26:00,561
that today, a quarter
of the genetic makeup of Black Americans
495
00:26:00,561 --> 00:26:03,564
can be traced back to Europe
through the paternal line.
496
00:26:04,857 --> 00:26:08,485
While forced reproduction grew
the numbers of the enslaved population,
497
00:26:08,777 --> 00:26:11,530
the deplorable conditions
that enslaved women lived in
498
00:26:11,530 --> 00:26:15,993
resulted in countless miscarriages,
stillborns and infant deaths.
499
00:26:16,702 --> 00:26:19,246
There wasn't bed rest.
There was no prenatal treatment.
500
00:26:19,246 --> 00:26:22,291
They are, they're out here
trying to endure pregnancy.
501
00:26:22,291 --> 00:26:23,500
Talk to me about that.
502
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,171
- So, they're out here in--
working in this-- in these conditions
503
00:26:27,171 --> 00:26:30,841
as pregnant women during
their first, second, and third trimesters.
504
00:26:30,841 --> 00:26:34,511
And when we read their stories,
and we listen to their stories,
505
00:26:34,511 --> 00:26:35,888
we can hear them pleading,
506
00:26:35,888 --> 00:26:37,681
just like they did
in Fanny Kemble's journal,
507
00:26:37,681 --> 00:26:40,434
pleading for breaks,
pleading for rest from their labor,
508
00:26:40,434 --> 00:26:42,644
pleading for some time off.
509
00:26:42,644 --> 00:26:43,729
But one thing that we find
510
00:26:43,729 --> 00:26:47,274
is that they would give birth
to 8, 10, 12 children.
511
00:26:47,274 --> 00:26:50,277
They're giving birth,
but the children aren't always alive,
512
00:26:50,277 --> 00:26:53,113
so they're often giving
birth to stillborn infants.
513
00:26:53,113 --> 00:26:57,451
So, a woman might have
12 pregnancies and six live births.
514
00:26:57,451 --> 00:27:00,913
So, half of their children
are dead when they give birth.
515
00:27:00,913 --> 00:27:03,624
- Mm.
- So, so, infant mortality was high.
516
00:27:04,374 --> 00:27:08,670
- Dr. Berry, when you were talking
about the trauma enslaved women endured,
517
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:13,300
and, and how that led to these
extremely high rates of infant mortality,
518
00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:16,261
I couldn't help but think
about how Black women today suffer
519
00:27:16,261 --> 00:27:19,681
the highest infant mortality rates
in the industrialized world.
520
00:27:19,681 --> 00:27:24,019
How we are still seemingly carrying
that trauma in our bodies,
521
00:27:24,019 --> 00:27:25,312
and burying our babies.
522
00:27:25,312 --> 00:27:28,941
- I would argue that there's a direct link
and a contemporary connection
523
00:27:28,941 --> 00:27:31,485
to maternal mortality today,
524
00:27:31,485 --> 00:27:34,238
and infant mortality,
and the challenges that women had
525
00:27:34,238 --> 00:27:35,989
giving birth during slavery.
526
00:27:35,989 --> 00:27:39,326
And I think that line goes
all the way from slavery to the present,
527
00:27:39,326 --> 00:27:42,037
and I think that we'll--
we see Black women today
528
00:27:42,037 --> 00:27:43,580
struggling in similar ways
529
00:27:43,580 --> 00:27:45,582
that they struggled
during the institution.
530
00:27:50,128 --> 00:27:52,130
♪
531
00:27:57,094 --> 00:27:59,513
NIKOLE:
After Chrissy Sample says
her doctor dismissed the pain
532
00:27:59,513 --> 00:28:02,850
she was experiencing
during her pregnancy with her twin boys,
533
00:28:02,850 --> 00:28:05,894
she finally got in to see
a high-risk doctor.
534
00:28:05,894 --> 00:28:08,522
And the news she received
was the most devastating news
535
00:28:08,522 --> 00:28:10,524
a mother can hear.
536
00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:16,864
- She said,
"Baby A doesn't have a heartbeat."
537
00:28:17,322 --> 00:28:21,326
And I'm like,
"Are you sure?" Like, "I just felt him."
538
00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,496
And I couldn't understand.
I'm like, "I don't--"
539
00:28:24,496 --> 00:28:26,206
I'm like, "I don't understand."
540
00:28:26,206 --> 00:28:28,417
It's like she was speaking French.
541
00:28:28,834 --> 00:28:32,546
I was like-- I didn't have
the, the words or the--
542
00:28:32,546 --> 00:28:34,464
It's like when you have
cry in your throat,
543
00:28:34,464 --> 00:28:37,426
and you have to say
somethin' so important,
544
00:28:37,426 --> 00:28:39,052
but you can't get it out.
545
00:28:39,052 --> 00:28:40,470
And I, I remember pickin' up the phone,
546
00:28:40,470 --> 00:28:44,766
and calling my husband,
and I'm trying to explain to him.
547
00:28:44,766 --> 00:28:48,896
And she had to take the phone
and tell him what is happening.
548
00:28:48,896 --> 00:28:50,564
And then he's on the phone crying.
549
00:28:50,564 --> 00:28:54,902
And she said,
"Well... you can't give birth.
550
00:28:54,902 --> 00:28:56,862
"You have to have Baby A
and Baby B together,
551
00:28:57,112 --> 00:29:00,324
or... you will lose them both."
552
00:29:00,324 --> 00:29:02,284
- I can't even imagine--
553
00:29:02,284 --> 00:29:04,786
- And it feels like you're--
554
00:29:04,786 --> 00:29:07,998
I've been managing life
and death at the same time,
555
00:29:08,749 --> 00:29:12,085
where I have my baby that passed,
556
00:29:12,085 --> 00:29:14,796
and I have to keep
my baby that's alive, healthy.
557
00:29:15,589 --> 00:29:18,425
So, you have to go home knowing
558
00:29:18,425 --> 00:29:19,885
one of your babies--
559
00:29:19,885 --> 00:29:22,221
- Mm-hmm.
- that's in your body--
560
00:29:22,221 --> 00:29:24,223
- Has passed.
- has passed.
561
00:29:24,723 --> 00:29:26,934
Yeah, I sobbed, I cried.
562
00:29:26,934 --> 00:29:30,729
I remember sitting at night crying
'cause I'm like, "I, I felt him.
563
00:29:30,729 --> 00:29:32,981
"I, I feel him. I feel his spirit.
564
00:29:32,981 --> 00:29:35,859
I felt his kicks.
I feel them moving together."
565
00:29:35,859 --> 00:29:38,862
I wrapped my head
around two babies, two of everything.
566
00:29:39,071 --> 00:29:42,491
I'm looking at YouTube videos
of how these twin moms do it,
567
00:29:42,491 --> 00:29:46,119
and what life looks like,
and everything has changed.
568
00:29:50,499 --> 00:29:53,252
NIKOLE:
Even when Black babies
survive after they're born,
569
00:29:53,252 --> 00:29:55,754
they're still twice
as likely as white babies to die
570
00:29:55,754 --> 00:29:57,214
before their first birthday.
571
00:29:57,923 --> 00:30:00,008
DR. VERONICA GILLISPIE-BELL:
If white babies were dyin' at this rate,
572
00:30:00,008 --> 00:30:01,844
it would be a public health crisis.
573
00:30:01,844 --> 00:30:03,971
There would be research being done.
574
00:30:03,971 --> 00:30:07,599
It would not take all the deaths that
have happened to cause attention to it
575
00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:09,726
as it has for Black infants.
576
00:30:11,144 --> 00:30:12,938
NIKOLE:
Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell
577
00:30:12,938 --> 00:30:16,567
is an obstetrician
for the Louisiana Department of Health,
578
00:30:16,567 --> 00:30:19,653
and she sees firsthand
how race drastically impacts
579
00:30:19,653 --> 00:30:22,573
the survival rates,
not only of Black infants,
580
00:30:22,573 --> 00:30:24,658
but of Black mothers themselves.
581
00:30:24,992 --> 00:30:27,160
- PATIENT: Hi, Dr. G.
- Hi. How are you?
582
00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:31,331
- I'm doin' well. How are you?
- I am good, I'm good.
583
00:30:31,331 --> 00:30:32,958
NIKOLE:
Black women die in childbirth
584
00:30:32,958 --> 00:30:35,961
at nearly three times
the rate of white women.
585
00:30:37,171 --> 00:30:40,215
DR. GILLISPIE-BELL:
Maternal mortality and maternal morbidity
for Black women
586
00:30:40,215 --> 00:30:43,135
is at a public health crisis
level right now.
587
00:30:43,135 --> 00:30:45,304
That's the best way to characterize it.
588
00:30:45,304 --> 00:30:49,433
We know, in general,
that our outcomes in the United States
589
00:30:49,433 --> 00:30:52,853
are worse than
any other developed country.
590
00:30:52,853 --> 00:30:55,731
There is no reason that a Black woman
591
00:30:55,731 --> 00:30:58,859
should biologically
experience these outcomes.
592
00:31:00,611 --> 00:31:02,321
NIKOLE:
The reasons for the disparate outcomes
593
00:31:02,321 --> 00:31:03,947
for Black women's reproductive health
594
00:31:03,947 --> 00:31:06,950
can be complicated and multi-dimensional.
595
00:31:07,701 --> 00:31:09,494
DR. GILLISPIE-BELL:
There's a, a misconception
596
00:31:09,494 --> 00:31:13,457
that these disparities
are only limited to poor Black people,
597
00:31:13,457 --> 00:31:16,543
or Black people without resources.
598
00:31:16,543 --> 00:31:20,672
It doesn't matter whether you
are socioeconomically advantaged,
599
00:31:20,672 --> 00:31:25,093
socioeconomically disadvantaged,
you're educated, not educated.
600
00:31:25,093 --> 00:31:29,723
The single tying string
is being a Black woman.
601
00:31:29,723 --> 00:31:32,184
- Here we are looking
at Serena Williams, in particular,
602
00:31:32,184 --> 00:31:34,561
who was the world's,
you know, best athlete.
603
00:31:34,561 --> 00:31:35,979
She definitely has support,
604
00:31:35,979 --> 00:31:38,774
she's definitely not dealing
with economic issues,
605
00:31:38,774 --> 00:31:41,193
and she still was dealing with the fact
606
00:31:41,193 --> 00:31:44,071
that she almost lost her life
after giving birth.
607
00:31:46,448 --> 00:31:49,451
NIKOLE:
The death of Chrissy's son,
whom she and her husband named, Apollo,
608
00:31:49,451 --> 00:31:53,163
cannot be attributed to poverty
or poor medical coverage.
609
00:31:53,163 --> 00:31:57,042
Chrissy is a middle-class mom
with good healthcare benefits.
610
00:31:57,042 --> 00:32:00,212
Instead, her birthing outcome
might be a reflection
611
00:32:00,212 --> 00:32:01,880
of the unconscious racial bias
612
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:06,260
that is a part of so many
Black women's experiences in this country.
613
00:32:06,260 --> 00:32:07,761
Research shows that race,
614
00:32:07,761 --> 00:32:11,265
or more accurately,
racism and racial inequality,
615
00:32:11,265 --> 00:32:15,269
also contribute to higher death rates
for Black women and their babies.
616
00:32:17,896 --> 00:32:19,398
DR. GILLISPIE-BELL:
The legacy of slavery
617
00:32:19,398 --> 00:32:24,319
is so ingrained in our system,
and we don't even see it.
618
00:32:24,319 --> 00:32:26,071
So, if we think about slavery,
619
00:32:26,071 --> 00:32:29,825
and we think about how
the Black woman was utilized,
620
00:32:30,075 --> 00:32:32,160
she was not allowed
to take care of her kids,
621
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,454
she was not able
to breastfeed her children,
622
00:32:34,454 --> 00:32:38,709
and so, what has translated
from that, today, in our bias,
623
00:32:38,709 --> 00:32:41,295
is that Black women
don't wanna take care of their kids.
624
00:32:41,295 --> 00:32:45,799
When we have our unconscious bias
and our unconscious beliefs
625
00:32:45,799 --> 00:32:49,469
that cause us to not listen
to Black women when they complain.
626
00:32:49,469 --> 00:32:51,638
We have an unconscious belief
627
00:32:51,638 --> 00:32:55,100
that Black women are supposed
to have higher blood pressures,
628
00:32:55,100 --> 00:32:58,854
and we are less quick to treat
those elevated blood pressures,
629
00:32:58,854 --> 00:33:02,149
that Black people don't
feel pain in the same way.
630
00:33:02,733 --> 00:33:07,738
NIKOLE:
Biases, whether unconscious
or conscious, impact medical treatment.
631
00:33:07,738 --> 00:33:11,366
For example, a 2016 study
showed that Black patients
632
00:33:11,366 --> 00:33:14,369
get undertreated for pain
relative to white patients,
633
00:33:14,369 --> 00:33:16,872
in part, because some
medical professionals
634
00:33:16,872 --> 00:33:21,251
still believe that Black and white people
are biologically different.
635
00:33:21,251 --> 00:33:24,254
- And so, these are biases
and these are things
636
00:33:24,254 --> 00:33:28,467
that have happened durin' slavery
that have just been perpetuated over time.
637
00:33:28,467 --> 00:33:32,971
But they have, they have now
come into our, our medical practice.
638
00:33:32,971 --> 00:33:35,140
And again, bias is unconscious.
639
00:33:35,140 --> 00:33:37,893
It is not somethin'
that anybody's intentionally doing.
640
00:33:37,893 --> 00:33:41,688
But as healthcare providers, it is on us,
641
00:33:41,688 --> 00:33:44,650
it is our responsibility
to understand our biases,
642
00:33:44,650 --> 00:33:47,611
recognize 'em, address 'em,
acknowledge them,
643
00:33:47,611 --> 00:33:50,155
and start to make
differences to change them,
644
00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:54,326
so that we are not usin' those biases
in how we treat our patients.
645
00:33:54,326 --> 00:33:56,328
♪
646
00:34:01,750 --> 00:34:05,963
NIKOLE:
Three weeks after Chrissy Sample
found out that her son died in her womb,
647
00:34:05,963 --> 00:34:07,464
she abruptly went into labor
648
00:34:07,464 --> 00:34:10,175
while homeschooling
her eldest son, Cameron.
649
00:34:10,175 --> 00:34:12,803
She was just 27 weeks pregnant.
650
00:34:14,304 --> 00:34:15,931
So, you had a cesarean.
651
00:34:15,931 --> 00:34:18,183
- Yeah, it was an emergency,
and they had to, yeah.
652
00:34:18,183 --> 00:34:19,852
And so, what's that moment like?
653
00:34:19,852 --> 00:34:23,689
- I was scared, um,
but I also-- I was drugged up,
654
00:34:23,689 --> 00:34:26,692
and my husband's like,
"He's here. You did it."
655
00:34:27,317 --> 00:34:31,238
And I wake up from surgery,
you know, hours later,
656
00:34:31,238 --> 00:34:35,450
and my husband took--
made the arrangements with Apollo's body.
657
00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:39,580
On a whole, they were just insensitive.
658
00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:44,084
The chapel comes in, he's shouting,
"You need to bury your baby.
659
00:34:44,084 --> 00:34:45,711
Your baby needs to be buried."
660
00:34:45,711 --> 00:34:48,755
And I couldn't even articulate the words.
661
00:34:48,755 --> 00:34:51,383
And I'm like, "Oh my gosh,
we have to bury Apollo."
662
00:34:52,509 --> 00:34:54,928
NIKOLE:
Cassius survived his traumatic birth,
663
00:34:54,928 --> 00:34:56,555
but weighed less than three pounds,
664
00:34:56,555 --> 00:35:01,185
and had to spend his first two months
in the neonatal intensive care unit.
665
00:35:04,438 --> 00:35:06,273
DR. GILLISPIE-BELL:
I think it's really hard for individuals
666
00:35:06,273 --> 00:35:09,902
to accept what is happening
in Black women's lives
667
00:35:09,902 --> 00:35:12,988
because of the guilt
that we feel as a nation.
668
00:35:12,988 --> 00:35:16,825
If you say the word, "racism,"
to say the word, "race,"
669
00:35:16,825 --> 00:35:19,453
it gives a very visceral response
to a lot of people
670
00:35:19,453 --> 00:35:22,956
because they do not want
to be tied to slavery,
671
00:35:22,956 --> 00:35:27,461
or even think about slavery,
and what happened during the slave period.
672
00:35:27,461 --> 00:35:31,173
It is a black mark, a blemish on America
673
00:35:31,173 --> 00:35:34,051
to think that that's how
individuals were treated.
674
00:35:34,051 --> 00:35:37,554
And so, we want to separate ourselves
from all of those activities,
675
00:35:37,554 --> 00:35:41,558
but we can't
because that is a part of our country,
676
00:35:41,558 --> 00:35:44,561
it is a part of our culture,
it's a part of our thinking,
677
00:35:44,561 --> 00:35:47,272
it's a part of how we, we behave,
678
00:35:47,272 --> 00:35:51,276
and we have to acknowledge it,
so that we can change it.
679
00:35:51,568 --> 00:35:53,570
♪
680
00:35:57,824 --> 00:36:00,827
♪ Wednesday's Child
by Alice Smith playing ♪
681
00:36:03,622 --> 00:36:08,627
♪ Tuesday was not bad at all ♪
682
00:36:08,627 --> 00:36:11,713
♪ Wednesday came with a flame ♪
683
00:36:11,713 --> 00:36:15,300
♪ Thursday never be the same ♪
684
00:36:15,300 --> 00:36:19,721
♪ Friday ships are not returning ♪
685
00:36:20,764 --> 00:36:23,350
NIKOLE:
Our society's racial classification system
686
00:36:23,350 --> 00:36:26,103
that grew out of 250 years of slavery
687
00:36:26,103 --> 00:36:29,106
didn't simply disappear
when slavery ended.
688
00:36:29,648 --> 00:36:32,734
Instead, white men in power
passed new laws that criminalized
689
00:36:32,734 --> 00:36:35,237
interracial sex and interracial marriage.
690
00:36:35,237 --> 00:36:40,659
And their blueprint was Virginia's
Racial Integrity Act of 1924.
691
00:36:42,286 --> 00:36:44,079
♪
692
00:36:44,705 --> 00:36:46,206
The Racial Integrity Act
693
00:36:46,206 --> 00:36:48,834
was designed by a physician
named Walter Plecker,
694
00:36:48,834 --> 00:36:52,504
who was Virginia's first registrar
for the Bureau of Vital Statistics,
695
00:36:52,504 --> 00:36:55,132
and a staunch white supremacist.
696
00:36:56,258 --> 00:37:01,555
- Part of the reason that Virginia passed
the Racial Integrity Act in 1924,
697
00:37:01,847 --> 00:37:06,602
post-emancipation,
in order to make sure
698
00:37:06,602 --> 00:37:11,315
that people's race was certified,
and they prove what their race was,
699
00:37:11,315 --> 00:37:14,985
and every aspect
of their lives could be determined
700
00:37:14,985 --> 00:37:18,697
by this accurate assessment of their race.
701
00:37:18,697 --> 00:37:21,491
And that was partly because of this fear
702
00:37:21,491 --> 00:37:25,162
that Walter Plecker had that there were
703
00:37:25,162 --> 00:37:29,708
people who weren't truly white,
who were pretending to be,
704
00:37:29,708 --> 00:37:32,920
and getting the benefits
of whiteness in Virginia.
705
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,422
- In 1924. Not ancient history.
- Yeah.
706
00:37:35,422 --> 00:37:37,716
- That's the year my grandmother
and my grandfather were born.
707
00:37:37,716 --> 00:37:40,010
Yeah, it's not that long ago.
708
00:37:42,095 --> 00:37:44,097
NIKOLE:
As part of the Racial Integrity Act,
709
00:37:44,097 --> 00:37:47,518
Plecker instituted
the infamous one-drop rule.
710
00:37:48,602 --> 00:37:52,439
Can you explain what the one-drop rule is?
711
00:37:52,439 --> 00:37:55,234
- The one-drop rule was the idea that
712
00:37:55,234 --> 00:38:00,030
if you had any discernible
amount of African ancestry,
713
00:38:00,030 --> 00:38:02,199
you were to be considered Black.
714
00:38:02,199 --> 00:38:05,786
And so, there were
various tests for determining
715
00:38:05,786 --> 00:38:07,871
whether you had some,
what was considered,
716
00:38:07,871 --> 00:38:09,790
"Black blood" at the time.
717
00:38:09,790 --> 00:38:11,917
These were not just physical tests,
718
00:38:11,917 --> 00:38:14,586
but tests looking
at who your friends were,
719
00:38:14,586 --> 00:38:18,257
what doctor you went to,
what neighborhood you lived in.
720
00:38:18,257 --> 00:38:23,595
It just became really important
to police these delineations
721
00:38:23,595 --> 00:38:28,976
between the people who had
the privileges of whiteness
722
00:38:28,976 --> 00:38:32,312
and those who had
the subordinated status of Blackness,
723
00:38:32,312 --> 00:38:35,607
especially, after slavery ended
724
00:38:35,607 --> 00:38:41,613
because you no longer had this distinction
of who was enslaved and who wasn't.
725
00:38:41,613 --> 00:38:45,367
NIKOLE:
The absurdity of race
played out during the early and mid-1900s
726
00:38:45,367 --> 00:38:49,079
in bizarre ways
particular to the United States.
727
00:38:49,079 --> 00:38:52,457
In 1924, New York socialite,
Kip Rhinelander,
728
00:38:52,457 --> 00:38:57,171
sued his new bride, Alice Jones,
after discovering she was biracial,
729
00:38:57,171 --> 00:39:00,132
claiming she hid her “negro blood."
730
00:39:00,132 --> 00:39:03,135
The jury ruled in her favor,
but not before she was forced
731
00:39:03,135 --> 00:39:07,347
to partially disrobe in front of them
so they could examine her body.
732
00:39:08,724 --> 00:39:10,976
And then there's the case
of Walter Francis White
733
00:39:10,976 --> 00:39:16,148
who headed the NAACP from 1931-1935.
734
00:39:16,148 --> 00:39:18,775
Walter White used the fact
that he could pass for white
735
00:39:18,775 --> 00:39:21,612
to travel into the Deep South
to investigate lynchings
736
00:39:21,612 --> 00:39:24,114
and other violence against Black people.
737
00:39:24,114 --> 00:39:28,702
On one trip to Arkansas,
he was discovered and forced to flee.
738
00:39:28,702 --> 00:39:30,746
And a clueless train conductor,
739
00:39:30,746 --> 00:39:33,916
not knowing White was
the one everyone was looking for,
740
00:39:33,916 --> 00:39:38,921
told him that he was leaving
right before “The fun was going to start."
741
00:39:39,713 --> 00:39:45,052
According to Walter White's obituary,
he was, “Only five-thirty-seconds negro,"
742
00:39:45,052 --> 00:39:48,805
but lived a life as, “A negro by choice,"
743
00:39:48,805 --> 00:39:53,644
and the existence of people like him
was what white supremacists feared most.
744
00:39:53,644 --> 00:39:57,064
That's why when Walter Plecker
created the Racial Integrity Act,
745
00:39:57,064 --> 00:40:00,609
he went to great lengths
to specify a person's racial makeup.
746
00:40:01,109 --> 00:40:03,737
And some of the categories
that still existed on the books
747
00:40:03,737 --> 00:40:07,741
when Ashley and Samuel tried
to get married, gave them pause.
748
00:40:09,243 --> 00:40:14,039
So, the racial categories
in your county in Virginia
749
00:40:14,039 --> 00:40:17,042
were what we would
consider fairly typical.
750
00:40:17,042 --> 00:40:21,213
But you all found out that,
in other places in Virginia,
751
00:40:21,213 --> 00:40:24,591
there were a lot of
interesting categories.
752
00:40:24,591 --> 00:40:26,802
Can you talk about some of them?
ASHLEY RAMKISHUM: Some of them I--
753
00:40:26,802 --> 00:40:29,096
Some of them I didn't
even know that they existed.
754
00:40:29,096 --> 00:40:31,056
Like, I, you know, I knew "mulatto,"
755
00:40:31,056 --> 00:40:33,642
but, like, "quadroon,"
and all these other terms,
756
00:40:33,642 --> 00:40:34,768
I'm like, "What are those?"
757
00:40:34,768 --> 00:40:36,812
And then when I started
googling it, it's like,
758
00:40:36,812 --> 00:40:39,565
"One-fourth Black in you,"
or, like, "Two-thirds Black."
759
00:40:39,565 --> 00:40:42,693
And I'm like,
"How do you... decipher that?
760
00:40:42,693 --> 00:40:45,988
"How do you measure
the amount of Black in a person,
761
00:40:46,321 --> 00:40:48,949
and then give them a name,
a completely different name?"
762
00:40:48,949 --> 00:40:51,743
Like, that, that blew my mind.
NIKOLE: Mm-hmm.
763
00:40:52,870 --> 00:40:56,874
Virginia may have been the architect
of laws policing interracial sex,
764
00:40:56,874 --> 00:40:59,376
but most states readily adopted them.
765
00:40:59,376 --> 00:41:01,628
At some point during the Jim Crow Era,
766
00:41:01,628 --> 00:41:03,964
thirty-seven states had laws on the books
767
00:41:03,964 --> 00:41:07,176
that prohibited interracial
sex and marriage.
768
00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,597
My home state of Iowa,
with its tiny Black population,
769
00:41:11,597 --> 00:41:15,017
legalized interracial marriage in 1851,
770
00:41:15,017 --> 00:41:17,644
nearly a century
before most of the country.
771
00:41:18,812 --> 00:41:22,441
But making interracial marriage legal
did not banish the ideologies
772
00:41:22,441 --> 00:41:27,070
that made it socially unacceptable
for a white person to marry someone Black.
773
00:41:28,822 --> 00:41:31,658
And so, when my grandparents learned
that my mother was in a relationship
774
00:41:31,658 --> 00:41:33,952
with my father, they disowned her.
775
00:41:34,244 --> 00:41:36,538
They eventually came around
when my older sister,
776
00:41:36,538 --> 00:41:38,957
their first grandchild, was born.
777
00:41:39,750 --> 00:41:42,461
But through the years, I've thought
a lot about how racial categories
778
00:41:42,461 --> 00:41:44,755
created such a stigma around Black people
779
00:41:44,755 --> 00:41:47,966
that it could turn parents
against their own child.
780
00:41:47,966 --> 00:41:53,222
NARRATOR:
Number 395. Richard Perry Loving,
781
00:41:53,222 --> 00:41:57,226
and appellants, versus Virginia.
782
00:41:57,226 --> 00:42:01,271
NIKOLE:
The Racial Integrity Act
stayed in place until 1967,
783
00:42:01,271 --> 00:42:04,566
when the Supreme Court ruled
in the Loving versus Virginia case
784
00:42:04,566 --> 00:42:07,819
that it was unconstitutional
to prohibit people of different races
785
00:42:07,819 --> 00:42:09,655
from marrying each other.
786
00:42:10,113 --> 00:42:13,325
But the Supreme Court didn't overturn
787
00:42:13,325 --> 00:42:18,372
that whole racial classification
that Plecker enforced.
788
00:42:18,372 --> 00:42:20,457
That structure was left in place.
789
00:42:20,457 --> 00:42:24,461
And that's why people
found out, even in 2019,
790
00:42:24,461 --> 00:42:26,713
that they couldn't get married in Virginia
791
00:42:26,713 --> 00:42:30,926
if they didn't check the box
for what race they were.
792
00:42:30,926 --> 00:42:34,096
- The marriages of three Virginia couples,
they're on hold right now.
793
00:42:34,096 --> 00:42:37,683
REPORTER:
They argue the mandate to designate a race
794
00:42:37,683 --> 00:42:40,686
violates their First Amendment rights.
795
00:42:42,437 --> 00:42:45,482
NIKOLE:
After their failed attempt
to obtain a marriage license in Virginia
796
00:42:45,482 --> 00:42:47,317
without identifying their race,
797
00:42:47,317 --> 00:42:50,279
Ashley and Samuel joined
a lawsuit with other couples,
798
00:42:50,279 --> 00:42:53,490
challenging the racial
classification requirements.
799
00:42:54,533 --> 00:42:56,702
The couple ended up
moving to Miami for work,
800
00:42:56,702 --> 00:42:58,871
but when they applied
for a marriage license,
801
00:42:58,871 --> 00:43:01,498
they were met
with the same requirements.
802
00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:06,295
ASHLEY: So, I go online
to the Miami-Dade clerk's website,
803
00:43:06,295 --> 00:43:09,173
and I start applying
for the marriage license.
804
00:43:09,173 --> 00:43:13,886
And their automated system, again,
had the drop-down menu for the race,
805
00:43:13,886 --> 00:43:17,931
and there was
no other option on that menu,
806
00:43:17,931 --> 00:43:21,643
but to go down and click it,
and I had to exit out.
807
00:43:21,643 --> 00:43:25,355
And I remembered calling Sam,
and I was like, "Here we go again."
808
00:43:25,355 --> 00:43:26,899
MAN: All rise.
809
00:43:26,899 --> 00:43:29,109
NIKOLE:
Ultimately, the Miami clerk's office
810
00:43:29,109 --> 00:43:31,153
found a way to issue the marriage license
811
00:43:31,153 --> 00:43:33,322
without identifying their race.
812
00:43:33,322 --> 00:43:36,325
MARRIAGE OFFICIANT:
I pronounce Ashley and Samuel
are husband and wife.
813
00:43:36,325 --> 00:43:39,494
NIKOLE: And Ashley and Samuel
were finally able to marry.
814
00:43:39,494 --> 00:43:42,497
[people cheering, applauding]
815
00:43:44,249 --> 00:43:46,084
Back in Virginia, a judge ruled
816
00:43:46,084 --> 00:43:48,170
that the remnants
of the Racial Integrity Act
817
00:43:48,170 --> 00:43:49,755
should not continue to force people
818
00:43:49,755 --> 00:43:53,425
to identify their races
in order to get married.
819
00:43:54,009 --> 00:43:58,305
The end of the Racial Integrity Act
and other archaic laws that created race
820
00:43:58,305 --> 00:44:01,975
doesn't mean that the racial categories
and beliefs they enforced over centuries
821
00:44:01,975 --> 00:44:03,769
simply disappear.
822
00:44:03,769 --> 00:44:07,064
And the legacy of these laws
still perpetuate false narratives
823
00:44:07,064 --> 00:44:12,277
about Black women's sexuality,
reproduction and motherhood to this day.
824
00:44:14,613 --> 00:44:16,615
♪
825
00:44:24,748 --> 00:44:28,752
NIKOLE:
In America, race was constructed
on the control of Black women's bodies,
826
00:44:28,752 --> 00:44:30,963
often through sexual violence.
827
00:44:31,839 --> 00:44:37,469
And that violence created harmful, false
narratives about Black women's sexuality.
828
00:44:39,179 --> 00:44:45,185
- So, all of these ways of thinking
about the enslavement of Black people,
829
00:44:45,185 --> 00:44:48,939
the control of Black women's
reproductive labor,
830
00:44:48,939 --> 00:44:53,277
and the control
of their sexuality in the sense that
831
00:44:53,277 --> 00:44:56,738
not having the legal right
to consent or not to consent
832
00:44:56,738 --> 00:45:01,702
is the foundation for many
of the myths about Black women today.
833
00:45:01,702 --> 00:45:06,999
Because it was all excused
by a mythology that Black women
834
00:45:06,999 --> 00:45:11,670
were inherently hypersexual,
that we were licentious.
835
00:45:11,670 --> 00:45:16,717
You know, we could not be raped
because we were always consenting to sex.
836
00:45:16,717 --> 00:45:19,678
And so, that idea of the Black Jezebel,
837
00:45:19,678 --> 00:45:24,600
the temptress who tempted
white men to have sex with them.
838
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:30,606
You know, these were ideas
that were circulated to excuse
839
00:45:30,606 --> 00:45:36,612
the rampant sexual assault
of Black women by white men.
840
00:45:37,237 --> 00:45:40,240
I know I'm not good enough for you,
841
00:45:40,949 --> 00:45:44,828
but let me have your precious,
white body just once.
842
00:45:45,370 --> 00:45:48,665
NIKOLE:
The caricature of the Jezebel
was followed by other stereotypes
843
00:45:48,665 --> 00:45:52,419
that have historically served
to rob Black women of our humanity,
844
00:45:52,419 --> 00:45:56,048
and are often so normalized
that we don't even think about them:
845
00:45:56,632 --> 00:46:00,469
the self-sacrificing,
nurturing, asexual mammy.
846
00:46:00,469 --> 00:46:02,679
I can't live with you?
847
00:46:02,679 --> 00:46:05,641
Oh, honey chile,
please don't send me away.
848
00:46:06,266 --> 00:46:09,728
NIKOLE:
The angry, emasculating, loud Sapphire.
849
00:46:09,728 --> 00:46:11,688
- It's about time
you met some decent people
850
00:46:11,688 --> 00:46:14,566
instead of that horrible,
uncouth group you associate with.
851
00:46:14,566 --> 00:46:18,403
- Get some Kleenex, wipe your nose
'cause it ain't that damn sad.
852
00:46:18,403 --> 00:46:20,572
NIKOLE:
Narrative drives policy,
853
00:46:20,572 --> 00:46:23,659
and too often,
cultural stereotypes about Black people,
854
00:46:23,659 --> 00:46:25,577
and specifically, Black women,
855
00:46:25,577 --> 00:46:29,206
have informed public policy
in truly harmful ways.
856
00:46:31,083 --> 00:46:34,086
Well, can you talk
about the social policies
857
00:46:34,086 --> 00:46:36,839
implemented in the second half
of the 20th century
858
00:46:36,839 --> 00:46:42,845
that really were fueled by slavery-era
notions of Black women's sexuality?
859
00:46:42,845 --> 00:46:46,223
- You know, this idea
that Black women's wombs
860
00:46:46,223 --> 00:46:51,186
produce devious and dangerous lifestyle
861
00:46:51,186 --> 00:46:52,688
in their children
862
00:46:52,688 --> 00:46:58,110
is a major driver
of public policy in the United States
863
00:46:58,110 --> 00:46:59,403
for centuries.
864
00:46:59,403 --> 00:47:03,031
But, especially, during
the 20th and 21st centuries,
865
00:47:03,031 --> 00:47:08,787
we can see it as behind
really substantial policy changes.
866
00:47:08,787 --> 00:47:13,667
I mean, think about Reagan's
icon of the Black "welfare queen."
867
00:47:13,667 --> 00:47:16,503
She's supposed to get pregnant
868
00:47:16,503 --> 00:47:19,798
just to get a welfare check,
869
00:47:19,798 --> 00:47:23,594
so that she can spend it on herself,
870
00:47:23,594 --> 00:47:26,180
and completely neglect her children.
871
00:47:26,722 --> 00:47:29,474
RONALD REAGAN:
Her tax-free cash income alone
872
00:47:29,474 --> 00:47:33,228
has been running $150,000 a year.
873
00:47:33,228 --> 00:47:36,857
NIKOLE:
Reagan's attack on Black mothers,
eventually, led Congress to pass a bill
874
00:47:36,857 --> 00:47:40,694
drastically restricting
welfare benefits for poor families.
875
00:47:40,694 --> 00:47:44,948
President Bill Clinton
signed that bill into law in 1996.
876
00:47:44,948 --> 00:47:47,868
And the tragic, only-in-America irony
877
00:47:47,868 --> 00:47:50,495
is that it's unclear whether
the Black woman Reagan made
878
00:47:50,495 --> 00:47:52,956
into a poster child for welfare reform
879
00:47:52,956 --> 00:47:54,833
was even Black at all.
880
00:47:54,833 --> 00:47:57,878
Born into a white family,
she became a con artist
881
00:47:57,878 --> 00:48:01,340
who used different
racial identities to her advantage.
882
00:48:01,340 --> 00:48:04,927
- From now on, our nation's answer
to this great social challenge
883
00:48:04,927 --> 00:48:07,596
will no longer be
a never-ending cycle of welfare.
884
00:48:08,514 --> 00:48:12,142
NIKOLE:
Not only did the policy fail
to save the federal government money,
885
00:48:12,142 --> 00:48:15,395
but researchers found
that in the first 15 years of the law,
886
00:48:15,395 --> 00:48:18,273
extreme poverty
in the United States roughly doubled,
887
00:48:19,274 --> 00:48:22,903
a reality that impacts
Americans of every race.
888
00:48:25,781 --> 00:48:28,408
We think about race
as being about racism.
889
00:48:28,408 --> 00:48:30,410
- Mm-hmm.
- But it's power, right?
890
00:48:30,410 --> 00:48:31,995
It's, it's who will have access
891
00:48:31,995 --> 00:48:34,748
to these exclusive
white institutions, right?
892
00:48:34,748 --> 00:48:38,377
To public goods,
to things like public schools,
893
00:48:38,377 --> 00:48:41,672
access to government,
access to employment.
894
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,424
That's really what this ordering is about,
895
00:48:44,424 --> 00:48:46,677
and making sure that only people
896
00:48:46,677 --> 00:48:50,597
in this very rigid category
will get access to these things.
897
00:48:50,597 --> 00:48:53,433
- Yeah, that's right.
This is a power hierarchy.
898
00:48:53,433 --> 00:48:55,519
Whether we're talking
about where you live,
899
00:48:55,519 --> 00:48:57,020
what kind of job you can have,
900
00:48:57,020 --> 00:48:59,857
whether you're gonna be arrested
and incarcerated or not,
901
00:48:59,857 --> 00:49:01,650
what kind of healthcare you'll have,
902
00:49:01,650 --> 00:49:05,279
and just in generally
how you're valued in society.
903
00:49:06,613 --> 00:49:09,157
NIKOLE:
It's hard to resolve
the stereotypes of Black women
904
00:49:09,157 --> 00:49:11,201
with all the Black women I know,
905
00:49:11,201 --> 00:49:13,412
beginning with my grandmama, Arlena,
906
00:49:13,412 --> 00:49:16,123
who was so determined
to give her children a better life
907
00:49:16,123 --> 00:49:18,625
that she left
her entire family in Mississippi
908
00:49:18,625 --> 00:49:20,544
with nothing more than a suitcase,
909
00:49:20,544 --> 00:49:23,839
and worked multiple jobs
to provide for her babies.
910
00:49:24,256 --> 00:49:26,758
I think of all my aunts, cousins, friends,
911
00:49:26,758 --> 00:49:29,344
who like centuries
of Black women before them,
912
00:49:29,344 --> 00:49:31,263
love their children fiercely,
913
00:49:31,263 --> 00:49:32,389
and fight to make the lives
914
00:49:32,389 --> 00:49:35,601
of their families
and their communities better.
915
00:49:39,438 --> 00:49:41,440
♪
916
00:49:44,484 --> 00:49:49,489
After two months in the hospital,
baby Cassius was finally able to go home.
917
00:49:52,117 --> 00:49:55,871
- I felt a great amount of joy
being able to look at him,
918
00:49:55,871 --> 00:49:59,249
and hold his little face,
and everything you can think of.
919
00:49:59,249 --> 00:50:00,876
Like, my job is here to protect you.
920
00:50:01,668 --> 00:50:03,879
NIKOLE:
And for Chrissy Sample and her family,
921
00:50:03,879 --> 00:50:06,673
reaching the milestone
of Cassius's first birthday
922
00:50:06,673 --> 00:50:09,927
was cause for celebration and reflection.
923
00:50:09,927 --> 00:50:12,930
[all singing "Happy Birthday"]
924
00:50:15,015 --> 00:50:20,437
ALL:
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
925
00:50:20,437 --> 00:50:23,649
CHRISSY:
When his first birthday come,
it was like, "Oh, my God, I made it.
926
00:50:23,649 --> 00:50:27,069
I made it... He's here. He's healthy."
927
00:50:27,069 --> 00:50:29,988
[Chrissy's husband speaking]
928
00:50:30,614 --> 00:50:33,825
- And, um--
WOMAN: We got you, bro.
929
00:50:34,618 --> 00:50:37,829
- I just... wanna have
a moment of silence--
930
00:50:38,997 --> 00:50:40,999
[people shushing]
931
00:50:41,708 --> 00:50:45,337
- I wanna have a moment
of silence for, um, Apollo.
932
00:50:47,130 --> 00:50:48,131
Please.
933
00:50:55,472 --> 00:50:57,683
Hello, hello, hello!
934
00:50:57,683 --> 00:50:59,393
NIKOLE:
Like Black women often do,
935
00:50:59,393 --> 00:51:02,187
Chrissy turned
her traumatic experience into action
936
00:51:02,187 --> 00:51:04,189
when she decided to share her story,
937
00:51:04,189 --> 00:51:07,192
and connect with other
Black mothers in her community.
938
00:51:07,734 --> 00:51:11,196
In sharing your story and your loss,
939
00:51:11,196 --> 00:51:14,658
and connecting with this
whole community of Black women
940
00:51:14,658 --> 00:51:20,372
that you probably didn't even know existed
prior to what, what you went through,
941
00:51:20,372 --> 00:51:24,376
what is your hope for other
Black mothers going forward,
942
00:51:24,376 --> 00:51:26,628
and the impact that you hope to have?
943
00:51:26,628 --> 00:51:29,339
CHRISSY:
I want Black women
to know we have options,
944
00:51:29,339 --> 00:51:32,176
and your birthing story
doesn't have to end in tragedy.
945
00:51:32,176 --> 00:51:34,511
Like, you can have a beautiful birth.
946
00:51:34,511 --> 00:51:36,555
You can bring home healthy babies.
947
00:51:36,555 --> 00:51:37,973
You don't have to damn near die,
948
00:51:37,973 --> 00:51:41,018
and think about...
leaving your previous children
949
00:51:41,018 --> 00:51:43,270
to be motherless children.
950
00:51:43,270 --> 00:51:45,564
These are the only worries
that Black women go in,
951
00:51:45,564 --> 00:51:48,775
in the hospital thinkin' like,
"I might not make it."
952
00:51:49,943 --> 00:51:51,570
That's not okay.
953
00:51:51,987 --> 00:51:53,989
I, I would like to change that.
954
00:51:54,948 --> 00:51:56,950
♪
955
00:51:58,619 --> 00:52:01,246
NIKOLE:
I think a lot about
what it will take for this country
956
00:52:01,246 --> 00:52:03,790
to speak the truth of what
was done to Black women,
957
00:52:03,790 --> 00:52:06,543
and reconcile the atrocities of the past,
958
00:52:06,543 --> 00:52:10,464
so that Black women do not continue
to suffer under this legacy.
959
00:52:10,464 --> 00:52:11,715
I think about what it will take
960
00:52:11,715 --> 00:52:14,760
for this nation to honor
and respect Black women,
961
00:52:14,760 --> 00:52:19,765
to see us, finally, beyond
the constructs that race created.
962
00:52:20,557 --> 00:52:23,185
- What do you see as the way forward for--
- Mm-hmm.
963
00:52:23,185 --> 00:52:25,395
for healing and justice for Black women,
964
00:52:25,395 --> 00:52:29,149
but also, for liberating
our society of these categories--
965
00:52:29,149 --> 00:52:30,776
- Yeah.
- that harm us all, really?
966
00:52:30,776 --> 00:52:34,238
Yeah, they, they do, and I think that
967
00:52:34,446 --> 00:52:37,449
women who have
been grappling with this,
968
00:52:37,449 --> 00:52:39,493
who've been experiencing it,
969
00:52:39,493 --> 00:52:43,789
and have been
the greatest resistors against it,
970
00:52:43,789 --> 00:52:48,001
uh, taking their leadership
to imagine a society
971
00:52:48,001 --> 00:52:52,172
that is truly based
in caring, and in humanity
972
00:52:52,172 --> 00:52:54,883
and in valuing human beings equally.
973
00:52:54,883 --> 00:52:57,553
I think that should give us hope
974
00:52:57,553 --> 00:53:02,099
that if we listen
to the voices of Black women
975
00:53:02,099 --> 00:53:06,728
and their visions
for a transformed society,
976
00:53:06,728 --> 00:53:12,734
we can collectively create
a world that would be safer,
977
00:53:12,734 --> 00:53:18,073
and healthier
and more flourishing for everybody
978
00:53:18,073 --> 00:53:22,077
than the kind of
damaged society we have today.
979
00:53:23,453 --> 00:53:25,455
♪
980
00:53:35,299 --> 00:53:37,634
NIKOLE:
It's the voices of Black people singing
981
00:53:37,634 --> 00:53:40,888
about that damaged society
that have helped to change it,
982
00:53:40,888 --> 00:53:42,723
right from the very beginning.
983
00:53:42,723 --> 00:53:44,349
WESLEY:
The music was beautiful.
984
00:53:44,349 --> 00:53:48,896
Comes from a place of, of great pain
and uncertainty, but also hope.
985
00:53:49,396 --> 00:53:51,148
That there's a whole cultural experience
986
00:53:51,148 --> 00:53:55,319
that is fascinating
and foreign to white people.
987
00:53:55,319 --> 00:53:58,322
They're drawn to it,
they are drawn to this music.
988
00:53:58,322 --> 00:54:00,324
♪
989
00:54:01,283 --> 00:54:03,994
♪