Speaker 1: Hey, this is Sanny and Samantha and welcome to Stephan
Speaker 1: Never Told You a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: And for our last feminist around the world for Black
Speaker 2: History Months, we are returning to the US with someone
Speaker 2: a lot of y'all all probably familiar with, but unfortunately
Speaker 2: for me, I was not, And I feel like an
Speaker 2: ignorant jerk. And so therefore we must take the time
Speaker 2: to give her her flowers and make sure we celebrate
Speaker 2: who she is and what she's done. Again, we haven't
Speaker 2: talked about her amazing works, So we're gonna talk a
Speaker 2: little bit about Billy Avery. Yeah. So. Avery was born
Speaker 2: in Waynesville, Georgia, in nineteen thirty seven and eventually moved
Speaker 2: with her family to Florida, and after graduating from high school,
Speaker 2: Avery went to Talladega College in Alabama, which is the
Speaker 2: oldest historically black college in Alabama. Just fyi, and according
Speaker 2: to the New York Historical Society, Billy loved life at Talladega.
Speaker 2: She majored in psychology and enjoyed learning. It is also
Speaker 2: where she got involved in the Civil rights movement. Authoreine
Speaker 2: Lucy was the first black student to integrate in the
Speaker 2: University of Alabama in nineteen fifty six, when her enrollment
Speaker 2: resulted in violent and massive student riots at the university.
Speaker 2: She sought safe harbor on the Talladea campus, and Talladega
Speaker 2: students held the rallies in support of Authorine. Billy also
Speaker 2: had the opportunity to hear doctor Martin Luther King Junior
Speaker 2: speak at her campus.
Speaker 1: Church, and according to Britannica dot com, Avery studied psychology
Speaker 1: at Talladega Alabama College and received an MA in special
Speaker 1: education from the University of Florida nineteen sixty nine. She
Speaker 1: devoted herself to the education of emotionally disturbed children, first
Speaker 1: as a teacher and then as a consultant to the
Speaker 1: State of Florida, and it was in college that she
Speaker 1: met her husband, Wesley Avery. Unfortunately, her husband ended up
Speaker 1: dying at the age of thirty three due to a
Speaker 1: heart attack, and according to that same Britannica article, her
Speaker 1: husband's siden death at the age thirty three was the
Speaker 1: catalyst for Avery's commitment to improving the health of the
Speaker 1: African American community. She focused particularly on women who, like herself,
Speaker 1: had a high level of stress in their lives. Self
Speaker 1: help groups for African American women facing poverty, crime, violence,
Speaker 1: and racism were the cornerstones of her activism.
Speaker 2: Right And in some of the articles they talked about
Speaker 2: how she was so flustered after her husband's death, not
Speaker 2: realizing that there was all these things that a lot
Speaker 2: of the black community don't know when it comes to
Speaker 2: heart disease and help in general, and she was really
Speaker 2: really upset that she hadn't been aware and that could
Speaker 2: have been preventive ways to save her husband, as well
Speaker 2: as many of the black people who weren't receiving the
Speaker 2: same healthcare. So that was something that really pushed her forward.
Speaker 2: And in nineteen seventy four, after she was approached by
Speaker 2: a woman and while she was working at a local
Speaker 2: hospital for help and getting access to abortion, which was
Speaker 2: and now is illegal, she and a few other women
Speaker 2: came together to help this woman by sending her to
Speaker 2: New York for care. But by the way, this woman
Speaker 2: was white and was able to financially provide for herselves
Speaker 2: to go to New York. Unfortunately, after trying to assist
Speaker 2: a black woman in the same way, this woman died
Speaker 2: from trying to self induce an abortion after not being
Speaker 2: able to pay for the cost to travel to New York,
Speaker 2: and this tragedy became the push for ability to become
Speaker 2: the change that the black community needed. According to her
Speaker 2: Wikipedia page, in response to the lack of access to
Speaker 2: abortion and other reproductive health needs that low income black
Speaker 2: women faced in her community, Avery and her colleagues Joan Edelson,
Speaker 2: Judy Levy, and Margaret Parrish opened the Gainesville Women's Health
Speaker 2: Center GWHC in nineteen seventy four. It was the first
Speaker 2: abortion and gynecological care clinic in the city. They opened
Speaker 2: these facilities after a position to open a planned parenthood
Speaker 2: clinic in Gainsville was denied. The GWHC mission statement was
Speaker 2: to quote help women to solve the crisis producing a
Speaker 2: situation of unplanned, unwanted pregnancies at a low cost. The
Speaker 2: clinic provided abortions and contraceptive services, facilitated sexuality workshops, and
Speaker 2: provided other women's health related training and services tailored Black women,
Speaker 2: such as sickle cell anemia testing.
Speaker 1: Soon after, Avery helped start the Birthplace in nineteen seventy eight.
Speaker 1: In the New York Historical Society article, they write in
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, it was common for women to be
Speaker 1: sedated during delivery. New mothers often woke up unaware they
Speaker 1: had given birth. Many women felt like they missed out
Speaker 1: on being aware of this important life experience. The Gainsville
Speaker 1: Women's Health Center opened a separate birth center in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy eight called Birthplace where Billy went to work. Billy
Speaker 1: in her Call the Leagues, gave women more agency over
Speaker 1: their birthing experience. They hired a midwife to guide women
Speaker 1: through childbirth and decorated the building to make it feel
Speaker 1: more like a home than a hospital. Billy assisted in
Speaker 1: over one hundred berths at the center.
Speaker 2: And in nineteen eighty one, Avery started a project called
Speaker 2: the Black Women's Health Project and according to Wikipedia, as
Speaker 2: a part of this project, Avery planned the Conference of
Speaker 2: Black Women's Health Issues, which was held at Spelman College
Speaker 2: in June nineteen eighty three. Two thousand women attended the
Speaker 2: three day event. Topics included domestic violence, diabetes, sexual abuse, obesity, sexuality, childbirth,
Speaker 2: mental health, as well as holistic wellness. It encouraged attendees
Speaker 2: to take charge of their health through consciousness of raising,
Speaker 2: community organizing around health issues, and self examination. Following the conference,
Speaker 2: Avery founded National Black Women's Health Project, now known as
Speaker 2: the Black Women's Health Imperative officially in nineteen eighty four
Speaker 2: in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the only national organization exclusively
Speaker 2: dedicated to improving health and wellness among Black women.
Speaker 1: And in nineteen ninety she with fifteen others from the
Speaker 1: African American community, started the African American Women for Reproductive Freedom,
Speaker 1: which quote was created to end the stigma against abortions
Speaker 1: in the Black community and to make abortions more accessible
Speaker 1: for Black women. And in two thousand and two she
Speaker 1: founded the Avery Institute for Social Change, which helps educate
Speaker 1: the Black community on health care policies.
Speaker 2: And of course her work has gotten much needed recognition
Speaker 2: that she deserves. And I'm sure there's so many more
Speaker 2: than we're listing of, so don't come at us, but
Speaker 2: those are the few we have, including the MacArthur's Foundation
Speaker 2: Fellowship for Social Contribution, Essence Award, President's Citation of the
Speaker 2: American Public Health Association, Dorothy I. Height Lifetime Achievement Award,
Speaker 2: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Impact Award from the Chicago Foundation for Women,
Speaker 2: and the Audrey Lord Spirit of Fire Award from the
Speaker 2: Finnway Health Center. She has done a lot for reproductive
Speaker 2: health and reproductive rights. So I wonder what her thoughts
Speaker 2: are on all of this today because it makes me very,
Speaker 2: very sad, and knowing that she opened up one of
Speaker 2: the first clinics in northern Florida. She had been in
Speaker 2: Jacksonville for a while trying to do a lot of
Speaker 2: like healthcare stuff as well, So it makes me sad
Speaker 2: to think what she would what she thinks now about
Speaker 2: what's happening in Florida as well as Georgia, because she
Speaker 2: was a part of the Georgia community as well. So,
Speaker 2: but we got to give credit. She did so much
Speaker 2: during a time where it seemed impossible to get things do,
Speaker 2: especially within the black community, and having the rights and
Speaker 2: being able to advocate for black women, which is still
Speaker 2: an issue today. We're sorry, but thank you so much
Speaker 2: to Billy Avery who has done this incredible work. And
Speaker 2: I hope that we continue to talk about all of
Speaker 2: the amazing she does and make sure we keep her
Speaker 2: name in what she has done that has been so
Speaker 2: advantageous and so amazing for women in general and those
Speaker 2: in the marginalized community.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, Well, listeners, if there is anyone else
Speaker 1: that we've missed that you think is a glaring omission
Speaker 1: in this segment or just in general. If you have suggestions,
Speaker 1: you can contact us. Our email is Stephania Mom steph
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Speaker 1: Christina or executive producer Maya, and our contributor Joey. Thank
Speaker 1: you and thanks to you for listening. Stephan Never Told
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