oday, we pay tribute to Anarcha Westcott. She was a 17-year-old slave who underwent about 30 operations without anesthesia for a vesico-vaginal fistula (abnormal connection between the vagina and bladder = urine coming out of your vagina).
She recovered after this operation. James Marion Sim (we refuse to call him a doctor) was the racist man who performed these surgeries on her and is referred to as the father of gynecology.
However, we would like to say that Anarcha is the mother of gynecology. Without her strength, courage and bravery, she would not have survived these procedures. We couldn’t imagine operating on someone without some form of anesthesia. Black history is the history of America. The story has to be told even when it’s not pretty.
That’s America
