In 1980, Lois Curtis was only 11, but she knew all about hospitals and jails because anytime she got into trouble, she landed in one of them. Her mother even turned her over to the state a few times, but then came even more trouble.
The next time she “acted out,” Curtis was placed in a mental institution. This time, her mother didn’t show up to get her. No one did.
She was warehoused in the Georgia Regional Hospital for TWO DECADES. Year after year, she tried to get released, but the state held her, claiming the services she needed could only be provided in the hospital. This was wrong, and Curtis sued the state, knowing that her freedom had been stolen.
Curtis won the case, but it was also a win for others. Her decision to stand up for herself made it possible for other Black children to get the services they needed in their own communities instead of being locked in mental hospitals far away from their support systems and loved ones.
Curtis advocated for those unable to stand up for themselves. Regardless of our abilities, we have the right to exist as we are; this truly is self-determination in action. What parts of Black identity or history have we reclaimed for ourselves, rather than accepting how society defines Blackness?