Dbq 13 Birth Control Movement Analysis

African-American advocates brought the background of the Black experience and struggle to the Birth Control Movement. They understood the economic disadvantages of the people and more importantly the racial discrimination experienced by the people the clinic assisted. The disparities in healthcare access, living areas, education, and jobs were attributed to Black people being lazy by other racial groups. However, people that are educated on the history of racial community segregation, like African American leaders, could understand that they couldn’t simply go and get medical treatment or well-paying jobs. They were systematically placed in communities like Harlem that were separated from the privileges of white communities. The African American …show more content…
This source discusses the prevalent question during the time especially within African American communities, how many children should you have. This document is a flyer that would’ve been circulated within the community to educate them on the different methods for preventing reproduction. They start by emphasizing the economic crisis during the time which relates to the class of many African Americans during the time in the geographic region of the clinic. Then the document proceeds to do a question and answer of explaining what birth control is, the difference between birth control and abortion, why birth control is a good thing, and the services the clinic can provide. Finally, they end the document of the location of their birth control clinic. Document 27 is a transcript of a meeting of the council from the Harlem Birth Control Clinic. They discussed different topics of importance. Most prevalent was the discussion of a newly hired African American social worker and supervisor of the clinic. They continue the meeting with a discussion of the various financial responsibilities of the Clinic. For example, what to charge African American patients. Since most African American patients couldn’t afford the original $5 fee they considered lowering it to $1. They also discussed African American nurse participation in birth control work to help the doctors. This document shows how …show more content…
They are from various sources like meetings, patient cases, and African-American leaders and doctors. The ones that offer the most insight on African Americans during the time are the patient cases in Document 28B and the letter by W.G. Alexander in Document 17I. The patient cases allow for an understanding of the lives of people during the time. Many of the cases were people with major health problems, many children, and living in poverty. These cases also highlight how important the clinic was because without it many of these patients might have been another mortality statistic. The letter written by Alexander presents a different view from the African-American community. He is well-educated and removed in economic status from the people he’s writing about. However, he is still African American which allows him to provide a historical and analytic view of why birth control is a viable option for African American communities. Their perspectives shaped the history of the Harlem Birth Control Clinic by providing better-educated staff to advocate for the African American patients. Also, the African American leaders allowed for members of the community to gain a trust for the clinic because they trusted the African American leaders. Therefore, more Black patients came to the clinic, educated themselves on their services and received proper medical

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