Addressing the Legacies of Eugenics in America

 Addressing the Legacy of Eugenics in America
Wednesday 25 July 2012, 9:00- 10:30 am

Racial justice and disability rights advocates in North Carolina have helped bring significant public and policy attention to that state's program of eugenic sterilization. The state legislature is currently considering compensatory payments to victims who are still alive. In California, efforts are getting underway to address the Golden State's history as a hotbed of eugenics advocacy. California sponsored the largest number of eugenic sterilizations in the country, and coerced sterilizations continued to occur in country hospitals and other venues after the state program dwindled. This session will discuss these efforts to confront the legacies of eugenics, and the possibility of extending them to other jurisdictions.