Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina officials sterilized an estimated 7,600 people, many by force or coercion. The state’s eugenics program targeted people deemed “feebleminded,” sick or living with a disability.
A recent study finds that it also targeted Black people considered economically “unproductive” in society. University of New Orleans professor Gregory Price led the research with co-authors William “Sandy” Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, and Rhonda Sharpe, founder and president of the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race.
The scholars found that for Black populations in North Carolina counties in a 10-year period, the number of sterilizations increased with the number of people who were unemployed and supported by the county budget. For other racial groups, the researchers found no correlation between sterilizations and county-supported individuals, which backs their claim that the racial bias of the North Carolina Eugenics Board program had economic motivations.
Host Anita Rao speaks with Price about the study and its implications. She also talks with Valerie Johnson, a Durham-based attorney for Johnson & Groninger PLLC, who helped sterilization survivors file claims for compensation from the state.