A monument erected to honor the sacrifice of women slaves subjected, without anesthetic, to experiments by the “father of modern gynecology”
The Stars Were Aligned
Sometime the week before Diana and I left, this segment appeared on the PBS nightly news as part of their arts and culture initiative, CANVAS. I was rivetted and knew The Mothers of Gynecology was a “must see!”
When I shared the information with Diana, she immediately looked it up online. She, too, was captivated. We adjusted our Selma plans to allow time to view this monument.
Our First Montgomery Stop
We knew from our internet search that the monument to The Mothers of Gynecology wouldn’t be open on Tuesday.
We had the monument’s address, so we headed straight for it hoping it would be outside where we could view it.
We were in luck … sort of. It was raining. Looking through a beautiful metal- work fence stood Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy, the three of seventeen slaves whose names survive. Behind them was a sculpture of Anarcha’s womb. Positioning our cameras through the holes in the fence, we managed to get a few pictures.
We hoped to return the next day to get the full experience. However, we already had tickets for a full day on Wednesday and didn’t know if that would be possible.
It was difficult to capture the quotes cut into the fence’s metalwork.
I’m not going to continue knocking on that old door that doesn’t open for me. I’m going to create my own door and walk through that.
~Ava DuVernay
Extending Myself
With the rain intensifying, we headed for the hotel.
In uncharacteristic fashion, I stretched my introverted self to ask the hotel check-in clerk, a black woman, if she knew of the monument. She did not. I enthusiastically told her how close it is to the hotel and that it was a must see.
She looked at me quizzically. I pulled up pictures on my phone and told her as much of the story as I could remember. Artist, Michelle Browder, intended to give the full picture of the history of gynecological advances.
The look of horror on her face told me that she would make the effort to see it for herself.
Researching This Compelling Story
If you find this story as compelling as Diana and I do, there are lots of resources about it online.
This YouTube video gives much more detail about the symbolism included in the statues.
This YouTube video depicts the artistic process … Michelle’s inspiration for the look of the statues and where she got that inspiration during the beginning of her work to create The Mothers.
This one is from the Smithsonian.
This is Wikipedia’s account of the Mothers of Gynecology Movement.
With Reverence and Honor
I will never again have a pelvic examination without honoring Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy and remembering with reverence their sacrifice on the behalf of all women.
I am grateful to Michelle Browder’s artistic vision and for proclaiming in such a powerful and meaningful way the rest of the story of the development of modern gynecology.
For me, this was a highlight of our trip! The stars were aligned. 🙂
Once again I was reduced to horror at the inhumanity of some HUMANS TOWARD OTHER HUMANS! As this history finally reaches general awareness I am once again reduced to horror at the inability of HUMANS to take in their own history. We are a very dysfunctional society. When we have been made aware of a TRUTH, we MUST be strong enough to experience its pain and walk through it to the other side. Thank you Linda for helping to make us aware….