NYC Removes Statue Of Doctor Who Did Surgery On Black Women Without Using Anesthesia
Dr. James Marion Sims, known for experimenting with black women without using any anesthesia on them, is considered as the father of gynecology. His 14-foot statue on New York’s Central Park has been finally extracted from its place.
Activists have been fighting for years to have the statue removed. However, it came as a shock that the statue will only be relocated to Sim’s resting place in Brooklyn. In fact, the pedestal with his name still hasn’t been removed yet.
New York officials unanimously voted to have the statue removed in Harlem after being disputed for many years. The decision came after the city monument was reviewed and concluded to represent a symbol of hate. A noose and hood were placed over the bronze statue while it was being transferred to Sims’ grave at the Green-Wood Cemetery.
Dr. Sims is recognized as a pioneer in women’s health. He has three statues installed in his hometown in South Carolina, New York, and Pennsylvania.
His techniques are brutal and he performs operations on female black slaves without assigning any pain relievers. Meanwhile, his white female patients were given painkillers before the procedures. Sims invented the vaginal speculum which is utilized in modern gynecology exams.
Officials are planning to replace Sims’ statue with a plaque that is dedicated to the three black slaves who Sims operated, tortured and experimented on. Their names are Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy. The transferring of Sims’ statue is sparking another controversy.
People are insisting that it should be destroyed not transferred. A lot of people are also asking why the pedestal hasn’t been demolished yet. While it sits there, his name will continue to be remembered in history especially in the black and Hispanic dominated neighborhood.
The East Harlem Preservation group led the campaign for the removal of the statue. They commented that as long as the statue is not destroyed, the doctor’s brutal legacy is still honored. The group stated that he is not their hero and do not want any reminders of his wrongdoings.
They continue to bear the reminder of the pain of the traumatic events each and single day.
Apparently, the move was symbolic and is deemed as a slap in that face especially to black and Latino community. These groups have been the subject of experiments without having any regard for their overall well-being. Sims exploited his subjects to the point that even his colleagues in the south found his methods to be too extreme.