Logan, Onnie Lee (c. 1910–1995)

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Logan, Onnie Lee (c. 1910–1995)

African-American midwife. Born c. 1910 in Sweet Water, Marengo County, Alabama; died July 9, 1995, in Mobile, AL; dau. of a midwife; m. 3rd husband Roosevelt Logan; children: (1st m.) at least 1.

Midwife who delivered the babies of impoverished black families for over 50 years, received her 1st midwife permit from Alabama Board of Health (1949); as a maid, often delivered house births with physicians; due to excellent reputation, was permitted to legally practice until 1984, even after the state of Alabama had outlawed lay midwifery (1976); after 1984, continued midwifery without permit; with Katherine Clark, wrote the memoir Motherwit: An Alabama Midwife's Story (1989), which became a bestselling feminist classic.