Elaine Riddick Jessie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elaine Riddick Jessie (born Elaine Riddick in 1954) is an African-American woman who, as a 14-year-old girl in 1968, was forcibly sterilized by the Eugenics Board of North Carolina, which argued that she was "feebleminded" and "promiscuous."

Prior to the sterilization (at age 13), Jessie had been kidnapped, molested, and raped. Her son, Tony Riddick, states, "The work of the Eugenics Board was not far from the thinking of Hitler."

Jessie was living with her grandmother, Maggie "Miss Peaches" Woodard, when a social worker discovered her pregnancy. The illiterate Woodard signed an X on a consent form, not knowing what it was, only that if she didn't sign, Elaine would be sent to an orphanage. The Perquimans County Department of Public Welfare had earlier custody of Jessie and her 7 siblings (from their alcoholic parents), sending 5 to an orphanage, and Elaine and one of her sisters to live with Woodard.

In March 2003 Mrs. Jessie and other victims of the Eugenics Board spoke out against the atrocities committed to the Eugenics Study Committee. As she said "When you're a little girl, what do you want? You want to be a mommy. To find out that's been taken away from you is devastating.".[1][2] She was prominent in the celebrations at the law's repeal.[3]

References

  1. ↑ N.C. STERILIZATION PROGRAM BRINGS APOLOGY, YEARS LATER Published on December 14, 2002, Page 4B, Charlotte Observer
  2. ↑ The horror of forced sterilization: State sanctioned procedure on 3,300 people By GAYLE WHITE The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  : 02/04/07 feature story
  3. ↑ Jet, May 5, 2003 (pay access) Photograph of State Rep. Larry Womble hugging sterilization victim Elaine Riddick Jessie of Atlanta at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, NC, after Gov. Mike Easley signed legislation to strike down a North Carolina law.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.