Elaine Riddick Jessie
Encyclopedia
Elaine Riddick Jessie is an African-American woman who, as a 14-year-old girl in 1968, was forcibly sterilized
by the Eugenics Board
of North Carolina
, which argued that she was "feebleminded" and "promiscuous."
Prior to the sterilization (at age 13), Jessie had been kidnapped, molested, and raped. Her son, Tony Riddick, states, "The work of the Eugenics Board was not far from the thinking of Hitler
."
Jessie was living with her grandmother, Maggie Woodard|Maggie "Miss Peaches" Woodard, when a social worker discovered her pregnancy. The illiterate Woodard signed an X on a consent form, not knowing what it was, only that if she didn't sign, Elaine would be sent to an orphanage
. The Perquimans County
Department of Public Welfare had earlier custody of Jessie and her 7 siblings (from their alcoholic parents), sending 5 to an orphanage, and Elaine and one of her sisters to live with Woodard.
In March 2003 Mrs. Jessie and other victims of the Eugenics Board spoke out against the atrocities committed to the Eugenics Study Committee. As she said "When you're a little girl, what do you want? You want to be a mommy. To find out that's been taken away from you is devastating.". She was prominent in the celebrations at the law's repeal.
Compulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization also known as forced sterilization programs are government policies which attempt to force people to undergo surgical sterilization...
by the Eugenics Board
Eugenics Board of North Carolina
The Eugenics Board of North Carolina was an agency of the U.S. state of North Carolina created in 1933 after the state legislature authorized the practice of eugenics by state officials four years earlier....
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, which argued that she was "feebleminded" and "promiscuous."
Prior to the sterilization (at age 13), Jessie had been kidnapped, molested, and raped. Her son, Tony Riddick, states, "The work of the Eugenics Board was not far from the thinking of Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
."
Jessie was living with her grandmother, Maggie Woodard|Maggie "Miss Peaches" Woodard, when a social worker discovered her pregnancy. The illiterate Woodard signed an X on a consent form, not knowing what it was, only that if she didn't sign, Elaine would be sent to an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. The Perquimans County
Perquimans County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2010, there were 13,453 people, 4,645 households, and 3,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile . There were 6,043 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
Department of Public Welfare had earlier custody of Jessie and her 7 siblings (from their alcoholic parents), sending 5 to an orphanage, and Elaine and one of her sisters to live with Woodard.
In March 2003 Mrs. Jessie and other victims of the Eugenics Board spoke out against the atrocities committed to the Eugenics Study Committee. As she said "When you're a little girl, what do you want? You want to be a mommy. To find out that's been taken away from you is devastating.". She was prominent in the celebrations at the law's repeal.