@blackhistorytruth: Mississippi Appendectomy: Forced Sterilization of Black Women In 1968, 14-year-old Elaine Riddick entered a North Carolina hospital to give birth after being raped. She left sterilized forever. Labeled "promiscuous" and "feebleminded," her illiterate grandmother signed consent with an "X" without understanding. This was the "Mississippi Appendectomy"—forced sterilization of Black women during routine medical procedures. Fannie Lou Hamer coined the term after being sterilized without consent in 1961 during tumor removal surgery. She later discovered 60% of Black women in her Mississippi county had been sterilized without permission. Between the 1920s-1970s, 31 states passed eugenics laws targeting poor Black women. Over 65,000 Americans were forcibly sterilized. North Carolina sterilized 7,600 people (mostly Black women by the 1960s). The government funded it, hospitals profited, social workers pressured families, judges approved procedures. Decades later, North Carolina paid $35,000 to 220 survivors. Virginia paid $25,000. Most victims received nothing. Entire generations erased by medical racism disguised as public health policy. Sources: Wikipedia: Eugenics Board of North Carolina - comprehensive history, Elaine Riddick case details ABC News: "Sterilizing the Sick, Poor to Cut Welfare Costs: North Carolina's History of Eugenics" (Aug 2011) NPR: "North Carolina Considers Compensating Forced Sterilization Victims" (June 2011) PBS: Fannie Lou Hamer biography, Mississippi appendectomy details National Women's History Museum: Fannie Lou Hamer forced sterilization EBSCO Research Starters: "Mississippi appendectomy" definition and history Rutgers University: "Reassessing Eugenic Sterilization: The Case of North Carolina" by Johanna Schoen University of Illinois Latina/Latino Studies: "Behind the Board: Eugenic Sterilizations in North Carolina" Senate records: Treatment of Certain Payments in Eugenics Compensation Act (2015) #ForcedSterilization, #ElaineRiddick, #FannieLouHamer, #MississippiAppendectomy, #Eugenics, #BlackHistory, #MedicalRacism, #ReproductiveJustice, #NorthCarolina, #CivilRights, #BlackWomen, #UntoldHistory, #NeverForget, #HistoryMatters, #Viral Elaine Riddick forced sterilization, Mississippi Appendectomy, Fannie Lou Hamer hysterectomy, North Carolina Eugenics Board, eugenics Black women, forced sterilization 1960s, medical racism history, reproductive injustice, sterilization compensation, eugenics movement America, Black women medical abuse, coercive sterilization

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Monday 02 February 2026 18:49:17 GMT