First Black Sextuplets Belatedly Win Public Notice
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: January 08, 1998
If
it had not been for the McCaugheys, the Iowa family who made medical
history with the November birth of septuplets, all of whom survived, the
world might not have known about Linden and Jacqueline Thompson. Then
again, because of the McCaugheys, much of the world may never know about
the Thompsons.
The Thompsons, who live here, were the first black
family in the United States to have sextuplets. That was May 8. But
hardly anyone noticed.
Almost seven months later, after an
eye-popping avalanche of money, corporate donations and blanket news
coverage for the McCaugheys, black people began pointing out that the
Thompsons, too, had made history and needed help.
Now the
Thompsons, who live in a cramped, three-bedroom apartment, are afloat in
a bounty of giving that ranges from matching Santa suits for their five
surviving children to a new house and guaranteed college scholarships.
They had to rent a storage shed for the overflow.
''I have no hard feelings,'' Mrs. Thompson said on Monday. ''It's better late than never.''
While the contrast in the attention received by the two families is clear, the reasons for it are murkier.
Some
African-Americans believe the difference is at least partly
attributable to race -- the McCaugheys are white and the Thompsons are
black. But others say the disparity is simply attributable to the
increase in multiple births. While the McCaugheys are the only couple
with septuplets, the National Center for Health Statistics says that in
1995, the last year for which numbers are available, Americans gave
birth to 365 sets of quadruplets and 57 sets of quintuplets, sextuplets
or more.
There may also be a more subtle explanation: There is a
delicate interplay of conflicting impulses at work for those who have
been spared the burden of publicity but denied the benefits. While
knowing that expenses loom, they are reluctant to appear greedy or
incapable of handling their own affairs. And, as in the case of the
Thompsons, who lost one child, grief can dilute their happiness and make
them less likely to trumpet their joy.
Some parents may also hesitate to come forward in light of criticism of the McCaugheys for having so many children at once.
''Some
people feel that these people made their bed, now they can lie in it,''
said Janet Bleyl, president of the Triplet Connection in Stockton,
Calif., a support group for parents.
Mrs. Thompson, who declines to say whether she took fertility drugs, said she had mixed emotions about being ignored.
''Once
the media gets on your back, it's nonstop,'' she said as her five
babies squirmed on a quilt on the living room floor. ''At the same time,
I prayed that someone would know.''
After Mrs. Thompson, a
waitress, gave birth, the family held a brief news conference. Some
local support materialized, but not much, and Mr. Thompson returned to
his job as an electrician.
Then on Nov. 19, every step in the
McCaughey drama became front-page news around the world. The McCaugheys
received college scholarships, a van, a lifetime supply of diapers, car
seats, strollers, groceries, seven years of free cable TV and an
invitation to the White House.
The outpouring for the McCaugheys
prompted a call about the Thompsons to the ''Tom Joyner Show,'' a
nationally syndicated talk-radio program in Dallas with a largely black
audience. The caller said the Thompsons were the victims of a double
standard.
Their case was also noted on Dec. 19 at President Clinton's Oval Office meeting on race.
Speaking
to the President at that meeting, Thaddeus Garrett Jr., former board
chairman at Howard University here, said of the Thompsons: ''Never got
mentioned anywhere. Didn't get a dime from any corporation, diapers or
anything. Then this woman out in Iowa has seven, and she's in more
magazines than you are.
And it wasn't until some of us ministers kicked up a fuss that now some of the corporations are starting.''
Whether
it was the ministers or the radio show, many of those who had ignored
the Thompsons rushed to their side in the newly warm glow of the
spotlight.
The Procter & Gamble Company offered diapers. The
General Motors Corporation provided a van. Howard promised scholarships
for all five children. Toys, clothes and swings piled up. Gerber
Products gave coupons for food. The Washington law firm of Wiley, Rein
& Fielding is providing free legal advice. The Freddie Mac
Foundation, established by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation,
said it would give the family a house and is on the verge of announcing
that it has found a big one with a yard.
