As part of our ongoing collaboration with StoryCorps — whose mission is “to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world” (you’ve probably heard StoryCorps stories on Friday mornings on NPR; you’ve probably also cried) — Shondaland presents another original, inspiring animated short created by the nonprofit organization.
Birthing a child wasn’t so easy in Black Mountain, North Carolina during the 1860s, especially for Black communities. There were no hospitals for Black people, and professional medical care was too expensive for the poor. But one woman stepped up to “catch” all the babies being born in town.
Mary Stepp Burnette was Appalachia’s traveling midwife until the age of 90, and in this video, her granddaughter, Mary Othella Burnette, along with her daughter Debora, stopped into StoryCorps to reflect on her grandmother’s legacy of bringing life into the world, as well as her impact on their family and community.
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