A Missing Birth Certificate Is More Than Paperwork

Mary Curry
May 7
2 min read

Updated: May 19

During the 1950s and 60s, many Black mothers were denied entry to hospitals or relegated to segregated wards. Babies were born at home or in underfunded facilities — and as a result, many never received official birth certificates. That single missing document continues to lock people out of essential services decades later.

Not having a birth certificate means being unable to prove your identity. It means barriers to voting, Social Security, education, even traveling to see your grandbabies. These stories are not rare — they are ours.

The REAL ID Act: A Modern-Day Barrier

Beginning May 7, 2025, all Americans must present a REAL ID–compliant license or passport to board domestic flights or enter federal buildings. But what happens when the system never gave you the documents to begin with?

Here’s what’s at stake:

REAL ID requires a certified birth certificate — yet many Black and Brown Americans born during segregation still don’t have one.
Many in our communities lack passports or valid government-issued IDs due to historic and current inequities.
Naturalized citizens and immigrants face added hurdles navigating complex documentation requirements.

Without compliant ID, you can’t fly. You can’t access federal services. You may even be barred from voting, depending on your state. In an age of mass deportation threats and “Make America Great Again” narratives, we must ask — what are we really saying about who belongs?

“Show Us Your Papers”: The Weaponization of Documentation

Let us never forget: it took years — and intense public pressure — before President Barack Obama was “allowed” to be seen as an American in the eyes of this country. The birther movement, led by political figures like Donald Trump, falsely claimed he wasn’t born here. Even after producing not one, but two birth certificates, doubt and danger still followed him.

Michelle Obama later wrote that she “would never forgive Trump” for putting her family at risk. Imagine that: even the First Family was forced to prove their place in this country — not because of facts, but because of race.

What does that mean for us, the everyday women holding it all together, raising children, teaching, caregiving, leading programs, and keeping the community afloat?

It means we must speak the truth out loud: these documentation demands are rooted in the same structures that once refused to record our births at all.

What We Must Do

Share Your Story: Your truth has power. Speak on it, write it, record it.
Support Elders & Families: Help them apply for delayed birth certificates, passports, and state IDs. We lift as we climb.
Push for Reform: Demand policies that recognize and repair the generational harm of segregation and documentation denial.
Stay Linked: Reach out to Linked Arms for support — we are building a path forward, together.