Durham was a tumultuous place in the 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing as Black Durhamites fought for equal rights and the end of Jim Crow. Just as for schools, restaurants, and transportation, desegregation of hospitals had the potential to equalize long-standing inequities and reduce health disparities. Yet the promise of better resources was undermined by the loss of a trusted environment, that of Lincoln Hospital. The consequences of desegregation for Black women were complex and conflicting.
The birth of a child can be an incredible moment, yet too often it was marked with loss instead. In Civil Rights era Durham, Black mothers and babies had higher rates of pregnancy and birth-related morbidity and mortality than their white counterparts. What caused these racial disparities in maternal and child health? How did desegregation change African-American women’s childbirth experiences?