A horrifying scheme described as modern-day eugenics has come to light, thanks to the bravery of a victim-turned-whistleblower.
Kelli Dillon was given a 15-year prison sentence after killing her abusive husband in self-defense; while in prison, Dillon says she was lied to about a medical condition and was then forcibly sterilized without her knowledge or consent.
Scott Hechinger, a Brooklyn public defender, tweeted about Dillon’s experience.
In 2001, while imprisoned at Central California Women’s Prison, the world’s largest women’s prison, Dillon was told she needed surgery to remove an ovarian cyst.
Five years later, Dillon began to experience symptoms of menopause at age 24, and it was only then that she discovered she had been given a hysterectomy without her knowledge or consent. She quickly sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) but lost.
After watching the documentary “Belly of the Beast,” Mary J. Blige was incredulous.
“I could not believe what I was seeing,” Blige said. “But somewhere in the back of my mind, all my life, I always felt like women weren’t being treated properly in prisons. Black women were just being treated like slaughtered pigs.”
Directed by Erika Cohn for PBS’s Independent Lens, the 2020 film investigates the widespread sterilization of female inmates in California prisons predominantly women of color and the callous, covert system that allowed this illegal practice to continue well into the 21st century. A central figure in the story is Kelli Dillon, a former inmate who was given a hysterectomy against her will.
Best films and television of the year and the devastation of cultural life
As the year ends, it is not possible to discuss any aspect of artistic life, or life in general, in 2020 without central reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, which the various ruling elites have permitted to ravage the world’s population.
In late March, we noted that “the global health and economic calamity” was without precedent. “Whatever the outcome in the short term,” we wrote, “social life and consciousness will never return to their previous states. A Rubicon has been crossed. The existing order, in the eyes of tens of millions, will be seen from now on as illegitimate and an immediate threat to their continued existence.”
Pass The Remote For December 17-24: Best Documentaries With Bay Area Connections
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As 2020 draws to a close, Pass the Remote revisits some of the standout full-length films that had Bay Area ties. This week, we ll count down some of the best, but by no means all, documentaries. Next week, we ll spotlight narrative features. Crip Camp : Oakland filmmakers James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham s Sundance Film Festival winner is not only inspiring and educational, but it s also lively, funny and even raunchy. Part memoir on an influential, rowdy summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in the Catskills but mostly a chronicle of the disabled-rights movement and its roots in the Bay Area, Crip Camp opens eyes, minds and hearts. It also celebrates the remarkable achievements of the determined leaders in the movement, and how they fought for change. (Available on Netflix)
The belly of the beast is orange
The belly of the beast is orange
December 16, 2020
Mary J. Blige said that when she heard Kelli’s story of forced sterilization, “I immediately knew I wanted to be involved … No one has the right to make decisions about a woman’s body without her consent, and ‘See What You’ve Done,’ is an indictment, a testimony, a call to be strong and an anthem for a movement whose work isn’t done yet.” Blige’s song is featured in “Belly of the Beast,” the documentary exposing the CDCR and many states’ horrific deception of women.