Untitled (Ready to Birth)

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

Black and white image of Mary Coley and Martha Sapp. Coley is assisting in the birthing of Sapp. Coley on the left, stands over Sapp who is lying in bed. Coley wears a nurses' cap, light-colored smock and a towel over her proper left shoulder. She pulls up the covers of the bed over Sapp's knees with her right hand. Her left hand is over the stomach of the Sapp. Sapp is in the lower half of the image. Her head is on the right side of the image. She is grimacing in pain. Her legs and feet are exposed beneath the blankets covering her torso. The background is in shadow.

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