Elaine Riddick (1954-) · Counternarratives Digital Archive

Name: Elaine Riddick (1954-)
Date of Birth: January 1958
State Assigned Gender: Female
Hometown or Region: Perquimans County, North Carolina
Freedom Status: Free
Occupation: Executive Director for the Rebecca Project
Biography: Elaine Riddick is a prominent survivor of the North Carolina Eugenics Movement.; Elaine Riddick was born in January of 1954 in Winfall, North Carolina. Early on, Riddick’s home life proved to be unstable because her parents were alcoholics. This caused her and her six siblings to be surrendered to the Perquimans County Department of Public Welfare. As a result, she and one of her sisters were placed with her grandmother, Maggie Woodard. However, this placement caused Riddick’s life to completely change. She was kidnapped, molested, and raped by a man in the neighborhood, and consequently, she became pregnant. A few months after being raped, Riddick’s pregnancy began more evident. As a result, her grandmother’s social worker, Marion Payne, became aware of her condition. Payne suggested sterilization, and instructed Woodard to have Riddick psychologically evaluated by psychologist Helton McAndrew, who deemed her “feeble-minded”.
After giving birth on March 5, 1968, Riddick was sterilized by Dr. William Bindeman. Her sterilization was signed off by grandmother and father; however, her grandmother was illiterate, and her father maintained no custody over her. Therefore, no true consent was gained. Riddick did not become aware of her procedure until she was 18 and attempted to have children with her husband. This discovery prompted her activism, and in recent history, Riddick has changed the narrative surrounding eugenics by making it unignorable. She has helped thousands of victims across North Carolina, as she helped win $10,000,000 in reparations. Her advocacy still transcends, as she created women’s advocacy programs like the Rebecca Project for Justice and the Elaine Riddick Sister Sanctuary in Georgia.; Click here to review Primary Sources related to Elaine Riddick.
Student Researcher: Lily Boston