A Houston woman who has all her milestone life documents except one has been fighting an arduous uphill battle to prove she legally exists.
Barbara Brown was born in the 'Texas backwoods' in the 1950s, delivered by a midwife during the Jim Crow era.
Black Americans faced discrimination and segregation and were often denied hospital access, leaving records like birth certificates incomplete or missing.
'Back in the woods, I was born there. These were grandmothers, aunties. No schooling,' she told ABC13.
'They just knew that they could do, you know, birth these babies. They didn't know how to fill out any forms, and nobody cared enough,' Brown added.
Now her missing document is catching up with her as lawmakers push the SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship to vote, leaving her without a birth certificate and struggling to move forward.
Brown has faced repeated rejection, frustration and mountains of paperwork while trying to renew her driver's license and passport.
'I give them what I have,' Brown told the outlet. 'And they said, "Nope, not good enough."'
Barbara Brown, born in the ' Texas backwoods' in the 1950s, was delivered by a midwife during the Jim Crow era
She has all her milestone documents except for her birth certificate
'I know I was born and I'm here. I'm a person,' she said to the outlet. 'I just feel less than, to be honest with you.'
Facing repeated obstacles, Brown is now gearing up to apply for a delayed birth certificate.
Hundreds of Texans apply for this document each year. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, more than 780 people applied last year, and over 160 already this year.
'A lot of records that may not have been kept because of the circumstance of so many of the black and brown babies having to be delivered by midwives in someone's home,' Linda Reed, University of Houston History Department Professor, told ABC13.
Reed said a midwife should have been responsible for documenting Brown’s birth, but 'anything could have happened' in between that may have prevented it from being recorded.
Brown has been trying to renew her driver’s license and get a passport, draining her time and money
Brown (left) faced copious amounts of paper work and repeated rejections
Brown's recorded documents included her high school diploma
Brown credited her faith with keeping her going, and nearly a month later she told ABC13 her passport application had been approved.
She expects her passport in May and is now preparing for the next step in her long journey, applying for a delayed birth certificate.
'It's going to have more meaning to me,' Brown said of her birth document. 'It'll say delayed, but it's okay, it's going to show me.'
'My prayers work, that's the only thing that keeps me grounded,' she told the outlet.