Black midwife in Greene County, Ga (Library of Congress)
Look around and ask your African American adult family members if they were birthed by midwives. It is likely that if they were born in the segregated South, the answer is yes!
Maternal health care to Black women in the Jim Crow era
In 1941, this priceless photograph was captured by photographer Jack Delano during a time when the federal government was documenting daily life in the South, especially among African American communities, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers. It was the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information’s vast project. While it seems like the project was a huge invasion of privacy upon the lives of wonderful people, it is a blessing to genealogists and African Diasporan families researching our ancestors.
This unnamed African American midwife in Greene County, Georgia, carefully prepares her birthing kit before going out on call. Midwives were the “sheroes” of their communities, providing amazing care to African American women during pregnancy and childbirth. Most hospitals were segregated and therefore, not available to the women. That is why the skill and devotion by Black midwives was so important. Their service has sustained generations, blending traditional knowledge with formal training to ensure safe deliveries and continuity of life.
Thank you, unsung “sheroes” aka the African American midwives. Let’s honor the ongoing organization that supports Black women’s health, the National Black Midwives Alliance.