EBB 274: Honoring the Mothers of Gynecology with Michelle Browder— Artist, Activist, and Creator of the Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey Monument

On this episode of the EBB podcast, we talk with Michelle Browder, artist, activist, and the creator of the Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy Monument in Montgomery, Alabama, established to honor the three Mothers of Gynecology.
 
Michelle Browder is a nationally recognized artist, activist, and amplifier, bridging the racial divide through art, history, and conversation. Michelle's artwork has been exhibited in art galleries around the world, most notably, the Rosa Parks Museum located in Montgomery, Alabama. In September 2021, she created a monument to honor three enslaved women, Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey, in Montgomery, Alabama. This monument is a reminder of the inhumane treatment and experimentation on enslaved Black bodies. The medical procedures that we have access to today in gynecology have been perfected because of them. The monument honors these Black women and all those that came after to correct the historical narrative around the beginnings of gynecology.
 
Michelle shares with us how she originally learned about the dark history of Anarcha, Lucy and Betsy and the inspiration to create a monument about the true founders of the field of gynecology. Not only is Michelle working to correct the history of gynecology, she discusses her progress and future plans to bring access, care, and healing to families and practitioners in the 21st Century, at the same site of the torture of Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy, the Mothers of Gynecology. In the words of Michelle, y'all ain't ready!

Trigger Warning: anti black racism, the use of the N-word, experimentation on enslaved women, sexual trafficking and sexual abuse, postpartum suicidal ideation.

Resources:

Follow Michelle’s Work

Instagram: @anarchalucybetsey

Twitter @mothersofgyno and on Facebook  

 

Sign up for Michelle’s newsletter and learn more about the 2024 conference here https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org

 

Read the following books:

• Say Anarcha by J.C. Hallman and check out his informative YouTube series here 
• Take my Hand by Dolen Perkins and learn more about Relf Sisters here
• Medical Bondage by Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens
• Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa 

Learn about Africatown 

 

Learn about what Evidence Based Birth is doing to fight racism and download free handouts here

 

Read more reproductive justice research on EBB's Birth Justice page