BYP100 Fuck White Supremacy | J. Marion Sims Statue

Yesterday dozens were gathered in front of the J. Marion Sims monument right outside Central Park. The New York chapter of Black Youth Project 100 put a Fuck White Supremacy action together within days to bring attention to the many forms white supremacy exists in this nation.

Sims was a gynecologist who did experimental surgeries on black female slaves and without anesthesia, because he believed black women felt no pain. At least 11 black female bodies were loss from his wicked practices.

Many calls were made requesting for this statue to be removed. It symbolizes anti-black women ideals and we should not be subjected to seeing Sims praised for his terrors against us. However, the park has ignored the calls to combat this form of white supremacy. So BYP100 and other community members came out strong yesterday to remember the women lost and call out bigotry.

Four members of BYP100 wore hospital gowns with fake blood running down them and it was quite a sight. To think about the gross pain and horror those black women underwent is excruciating and disgusting. There was also an altar for these women where folks could bring items to remember them by.

I appreciate this action and this organization because it exposes the many ways in which white supremacy attacks the marginalized. We can look at Sims and see how his ideals manifest in gynecology today, as black women are almost 4 times as likely to die after maternity than white women. This nation is oppressing us in all forms and incites violence on us in all forms. Us, black women, are still viewed as disposable and as equipment versus the humans that we are. We must continue to call out the anti-blackness and call to have this statue removed. What are they really saying by keeping this statue up? To give J. Marion  Sims the title "father of modern gynecology" knowing he used black bodies as guinea pigs is to uphold the hate that we are currently witnessing in Charlottesville. The masses are constantly "shocked" by the fascism they see, but the oppression is usually right in front of us. It is on us to acknowledge it and break down, in this case literally, these constructs.

In the words of BYP100 organizer Seshat Mack, "when we say this nation was built on black bodies we're not exaggerating". Pay attention to the people America celebrates. I applaud Black Youth Project 100 for their continuous work towards black liberation and encourage everyone, including myself, to step up and challenge these constructs of hate.