Fannie Lou Hamer received a hysterectomy in 1961.
This medical procedure was performed by a white doctor without her consent while she was undergoing surgery to remove a uterine tumor. This type of non-consensual sterilization was a disturbingly common practice targeting poor Black women, particularly in the Southern United States, so much so that it was infamously nicknamed a "Mississippi appendectomy."
Context of the Non-Consensual Procedure
The forced hysterectomy of Fannie Lou Hamer is a significant event that underscores the systemic medical injustices faced by Black women during the era. While the precise month and day of the surgery are not widely specified in historical records, the year 1961 is consistently cited as the time of this profound violation.
Key aspects of this incident include:
- Lack of Consent: Hamer's consent was neither sought nor given for the hysterectomy. She had presented for a different medical issue—the removal of a uterine tumor—and the sterilization procedure was performed without her knowledge or permission.
- "Mississippi Appendectomy": This grim term highlights a widespread and discriminatory practice where Black women, particularly those who were poor, were sterilized without their informed consent. It reflects a dark period of medical exploitation and reproductive injustice.
- Impact on Fannie Lou Hamer: This traumatic personal experience deeply informed Hamer's powerful activism. As a prominent civil rights leader, she often spoke out about the systemic oppression, including medical abuse, faced by Black communities, using her own story to illuminate broader injustices.
This incident remains a powerful symbol of the historical struggle for bodily autonomy and medical ethics, particularly for marginalized populations.
