A City's Neglectful Past: Young Black Mothers and the Creation of a Reproductive Health Crises in the Urban North, 1955–2005

This research addresses public health measures taken in Syracuse, New York, pertaining to the reproductive status of Black women and girls in the last decades of the twentieth century. Particularly, I will discuss Black young mothers' inadequate access to reproductive health care, resulting in alarming infant mortality rates both during the 1950s and again in the 1980s and 1990s. Various interventionist measures were introduced, including the Young Mothers Educational Development (YMED) program in 1967, a school for young mothers providing their educational curriculum as well as prenatal care from medical providers. Additionally, efforts were made to introduce comprehensive sexual education programs within various Black churches in Syracuse, NY. A substantial proportion of these initiatives were championed by Black women actively engaged in the public health sector.