North Carolina to honor victims of forced sterilization
June 22nd, 2009From the Winston-Salem Journal:
North Carolina will unveil a historical marker on Monday to remember one of the state’s darkest chapters during the 20th century: the forced sterilization of more than 7,600 people under a state-sponsored eugenics program.
Justified by junk science and enshrined in state law, the program mainly targeted poor people and residents of public institutions. The victims were usually accused of being mentally ill, mentally disabled or a danger to society, and they were medically sterilized after approval from a panel known as the Eugenics Board.
The ceremony will be attended by state leaders and several living sterilization victims. A measure in the North Carolina legislature that would grant reparations to eugenics victims is believed to be dead because of lack of funding.
Earlier posts here.
See also: Against Their Will: A five-part series in the Winston-Salem Journal

