write an essay about the influencer to you

Enslaved couple Monemia and Jacob McKoy lived in North Carolina in the mid-19th century. In 1851, Monemia — already the mother of 7 children — gave birth to conjoined twins Millie and Christine. While all enslaved parents lived with a constant fear of being separated from their children at the auction block, that threat was more pronounced for the McKoys because Millie and Christine were considered “genealogical wonders”. The girls each had their own limbs but were joined at the pelvis. Throughout their lives, they were sold, kidnapped, endured horrific and invasive medical exams, and forced to perform in sideshows. Despite her circumstances, Monemia fought endlessly for her children. As toddlers, Millie and Christine were sold, stolen and sent to Europe to perform. “In a staggering act of Black motherhood, Monemia travelled there, along with the girls’ owner and a detective, ” wrote Drs. Berry and Gross in their book. “The three bought tickets where the 6-year-old twins were scheduled to perform. When Monemia was reunited with her daughters in the front row, she fainted. ” Following this reunion in the late 1850’s, the court in Birmingham, England, granted full maternal rights to Monemia. Drs. Berry and Gross want to underscore how profound that moment was: “For a rare moment in 19th-century history, a Black mother was reunited with her daughters because she was their mother, rather than taken away from them through the yoke of slavery, ” they wrote. Monemia and her daughters returned to the US where the twins received an education and continued to perform throughout the world. Records show the twins were eventually able to purchase the property where they were born, providing housing for their parents and siblings. Millie and Christine died within hours of each other at the age of 61 in 1912.