I recently read “The Woman They Could Not Silence” by Kate Moore. Moore shares the true story of Elizabeth Packard, a mother of six, whose husband, Theophilus, feels threatened by her intellect and her unwillingness to silence her own opinions. In 1860, Theophilus, in an attempt to silence Elizabeth, has her committed to the Illinois State Hospital, an insane asylum.
Once inside, Elizabeth is disturbed when she learns many other sane women like herself have also been committed to the asylum. Even more shocking to Elizabeth is the abuse that many of the inmates endure from attendants and that the director of the hospital does nothing to stop it. Elizabeth’s friends do all they can to free her, but sadly the laws at the time give her no legal recourse.
Elizabeth does all she can to not despair, writing a secret journal and helping other inmates whenever she can. She also tries to bring outside attention to the conditions in the hospital.
Eventually in 1863, she is released. Elizabeth then tirelessly campaigns with some success to bring more legal rights to women, to prevent sane individuals from being committed, and to stop the abusive practices in the asylum.
I was infuriated by Elizabeth’s treatment and by how women in general and the inmates were treated at the time. I was also amazed at Elizabeth’s fierce determination to not only help herself, but all women and the inmates as well.
In the author’s note at the beginning of the book, Moore states “This is not a book about mental health, but about how it can be used as a weapon … This is a book about power. Who wields it. Who owns it. And the methods they use. And above all, it’s about fighting back.”
We just celebrated the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., another individual who fought back against injustice. While we have made some progress since the 1860s and the 1960s, women, people of color, and other groups still deal with prejudice and unfair treatment.
I am dismayed that locally people have been working to limit access to books that deal with gender, sexuality, and sex education. These efforts silence marginalized and underrepresented voices. I have LGBTQ family, friends, and students who deserve to not only read about people with similar challenges, questions, and life experiences as they have, but to also be seen as normal, worthwhile, valuable human beings. I’m grateful that Bartholomew County Public Library officials are willing to fight for and protect the rights of all individuals in our community.
I was impressed by the speech House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave as he ceremoniously handed over the speaker’s gavel from the Democrats to Republicans reminding us to value the diversity in our country. Let’s take his words to heart as we follow the examples of Elizabeth Packard, Martin Luther King Jr., and our local librarians in fighting back against injustice.
“We believe that in America our diversity is a strength — it is not a weakness — an economic strength, a competitive strength, a cultural strength … We are a gorgeous mosaic of people from throughout the world. As John Lewis would sometimes remind us on this floor, we may have come over on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now. We are white. We are Black. We are Latino. We are Asian. We are Native American.
“We are Christian. We are Jewish. We are Muslim. We are Hindu. We are religious. We are secular. We are gay. We are straight. We are young. We are older. We are women. We are men. We are citizens. We are dreamers.
“Out of many, we are one. That’s what makes America a great country, and no matter what kind of haters are trying to divide us, we’re not going to let anyone take that away from us, not now, not ever. This is the United States of America.”
Susan Cox is one of The Republic’s community columnists, and all opinions expressed are those of the writer. She is an avid reader, an outdoor enthusiast, a mother, a grandmother, and an adjunct instructor of English at IUPUC. She can be reached at [email protected].
