As I was listening to this podcast on the history behind the birth of gynecology, specifically how the father of modern gyencology – James Marion Sims – based his findings on the pain of enslaved black women, I found myself grappling with a dilemma that I have been encountering time and again recently.

When historical analysis reveals the failings of a revered role model, how do you deal with it?

Do we cast aside the figure and his/her teachings?
Do we ignore the pain of the victims in favor of the greater good that this person eventually created?
If we continue to reap the benefits of this good, aren’t we being hyprocrites?
How do we talk about history in an unbiased manner and still maintain the orderly world we live in today?

For instance, in this case, we cannot reject the knowledge gained by James Marion Sims from these experiments as modern gynecology stands on its foundations. So how do we reconcile with the fact that the healthcare knowledge we benefit from as women, today, was forged in the pain of our fellow sisters who were deemed to be of less value and had no say in how their bodies could be used?

I don’t know if I have an absolute answer yet, I don’t think anyone can ever provide one. But hearing the story of Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy has made one thing clear. We cannot ignore selective parts of history because they are inconvenient. While we cannot reverse time and erase those sordid portions, we can respect the victims by relating events impartially; accept when something new is revealed that brings down a paragon we put up on a pedestal. As adults, the least we can do is shoulder the responsibility of acknowledging all sides of a story, reconcile with the failings of perceived heroes and learn from times past so we can do better in the generations to come.