Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Spring/Section33/Mandy Johnson

Overview
Mandy Johnson was an African American midwife who lived in Alabama for her entire life. In 1938, she was interviewed in her home by Ida Prine for the.

Early Life
In 1867, Mandy Johnson was born in Cottage Hill,. Mandy was the daughter of Levi Johnson, a six foot plus man who raised chickens and hogs for a living. Levi Johnson worked for Mr. Labuzan, a Caucasian man who owned a large farm in Cottage Hill. Mandy Jonson lived with her five siblings, two sisters and three brothers, during her early childhood.

Later Life
After her husband suffered from a blood clot due to an accident at a sawmill, Johnson became a midwife to help take care of her seven kids. She helped deliver a large number of babies in her hometown and typically made between five and ten dollars for each baby she was able to safely deliver. Many of Mandy Johnson’s children grew up to work for the son of Mr. Labuzan, whom her father had worked for. She formed a strong relationship with Miss Labuzan, and would sometimes receive gifts. At the time of the interview, Johnson was living with some of her daughters and grandchildren, and was no longer working as a midwife.

Fight Against Midwives
Although midwives were an important part of society for black people at that time, their impact was not acknowledged by the government, in the south particularly. A key person involved in the pushing for midwives practices to be changed was. In 1914, he published booklets that became very popular. He collected data about African maternal mortality rates in urban areas and used these numbers to prove his point about the inefficiency of both black and white midwives, however the majority of African American midwives resided in rural areas. By misconstruing the data he collected, Plecker contributed to the fight about the legitimacy of midwives. Midwives came under fire from scientists, doctors, and those who worked in the government, because their methods were not what they recommended. It was common for a black midwife to be caught in public, and asked about the practices she used, and if they were not up to standards, stripped of her papers by medical officials. This led midwives to become secretive about their practices and the traditional herbs they utilized. A majority of these methods were traditions that black communities had kept prevalent amongst them since they had arrived on the shores of America. These ideas promoted were against the use of traditional methods and preferred to rely strictly on new science. And this led to the lessening of a presence of midwives in today’s society and the emphasis on hospital born births.

Lack of Support for Black Healthcare Workers
Not only were midwives targeted, but all African Americans in the healthcare system were also impacted. It became much harder for those of African descent to gain the certification they needed to serve their people, due largely to standards set by white scientists and doctors. Not only did the states give African Americans little to no budget for healthcare, they also did not aid them in establishing their own doctors who were certified. The fact that these black individuals were not able to gain certification and the education they needed in order to help their community played a large role in the diseases and illnesses that were rampant in their communities. It was rare to find a doctor or nurse who was African American and instead more common to see them working underneath a white man or woman.

High Mortality Rates in Black Communities
A problem that was affecting black communities in the early twentieth century was high mortality rates in African American women and infants. Infant mortality rates were consistently higher for people of African descent, no matter the education level or wealth level. African American communities also endured maternal mortality rates that were up to four times higher than maternal mortality rates in predominantly white communities. Many attribute this phenomenon to the treatment of African American women in hospitals before, during, and after their pregnancies. In the early 1900’s it was not rare for a black woman to die of an unknown illness. At this time race played a large factor in how patients were treated in hospitals.