Lindsay Clancy, Latarsha Sanders, and Why the Public is so Riveted by One of These Cases (and Not the Other)

It seems like everybody is talking about the Lindsay Clancy case, with so many women absolutely glued to the coverage. Of course, this is an incredibly layered story that touches on so many things, like the broken state of postpartum care in the United States. It makes sense that so many women, mothers in particular, are riveted by the unfolding of it all.

But for me — and, I imagine, so many other women of color — the fascination feels especially unsurprising. Clancy is, after all, a nice white woman from a nice suburb. So many other white women, especially affluent white mothers, see themselves in her, and they've said as much.

Right now, my feeds are absolutely full of people talking about how they see pieces of their own stories in Clancy's. How all the commentary about how Clancy appeared, by all accounts, to be a capable, high-functioning, attentive mother. She seemed okay. But here's what I notice: All the women posting these takes are also white women.

I don't think women of color, especially Black women, have the luxury of admitting they see themselves in Clancy's story because it takes so little for someone to discredit women of color — in the workplace, in society, and yes, in motherhood. And women of color know that if someone who looked like them were the one on trial, there wouldn't have been even a fraction of this media attention.

Case in point: Latarsha Sanders, a Black woman who was also charged in the deaths of her two children. A retrial was just issued in this case, as evidence of Sanders's medical records, which showed a history of mental illness, were not considered as evidence. What's amazing is how little public attention this case drew — and how neither the public not the justice system saw fit to humanize Sanders the way did Clancy. To consider that a mother like this could not have possibly been responsible for something so dark.

This is not me saying we should not pay attention to Clancy's trial. I believe this case has the power to actually bring about some change in the way we treat postpartum mothers. But it all begs the question...why did we suddenly start to take this seriously with Clancy's case? I think we all know the answer here...even though it's uncomfortable to admit.