Summary of Dorothy E. Roberts's Killing the Black Body

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The control of Black women’s reproductive lives began with the experiences of slave women like Rose Williams. Their childbearing replenished the enslaved labor force, and their procreation was largely a result of oppression rather than self-definition.

#2 The control of slave women’s reproduction is a great example of the importance of reproductive liberty to women’s equality. The harms of treating women’s wombs as procreative vessels, policies that pit a mother’s welfare against that of her unborn child, and government manipulation of women’s childbearing decisions all come from the denial of reproductive liberty.

#3 The essence of Black women’s experience during slavery was the denial of autonomy over reproduction. Female slaves were commercially valuable to their masters not only for their labor, but also for their ability to produce more slaves.

#4 Slaveholders used many methods to increase the fertility of their female slaves, from giving them presents to manipulating their marital choices. Women who did not produce children were often sold off or worse.

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Release date

Ebook: May 2, 2022