Necessary Lies

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of forced sterilization and racism.

Though fictional characters, Ivy’s and Mary Ella’s experiences are inspired by historically accurate events. The term “eugenics” emerged in the late 1880s, influenced by the ideas of Social Darwinism, which advocated for the promotion of the strongest, most desirable genetic traits. This period coincided with the discovery that certain diseases and other conditions were genetically inherited. Initially, eugenics was touted as a means to eliminate diseases and strengthen health through the selection of desired traits. By the 1920s, the belief had spread that modern science, in conjunction with governmental intervention, should be used to improve the nation’s population in an effort to reduce criminality and increase economic independence. The eugenics movement relied on the belief that criminality was not socially constructed but due to ingrained biological features often attributed to the most marginalized, notably Black people. What was “desirable” often meant an individual could produce greater economic surplus and, thus, profit. The peak of desirability was considered traits closely connected to professional white society. Those deemed “unfit” were people who, by either disabilities or societal discrimination, were often stuck in low-paying jobs or left depending on others for financial care. The movement propagated bigoted notions about which individuals and groups of people were genetically desirable and therefore superior (Farber, Steven A. “U.S. Scientists’ Role in the Eugenics Movement.” Zebrafish, 2008, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 243-45; “American Eugenics Movement.” Library of Congress).

The state of North Carolina established its Eugenics Board in 1933. It aimed to practice what was known as “negative eugenics,” seeking to discourage reproduction among people suspected to have “genetic defects.” It would thus become the only state that allowed for sterilization of citizens who were not imprisoned or committed to psychiatric hospitals. Those who qualified for sterilization included people with mental illnesses, epilepsy, and/or low IQs (Sims, Joe. “Thousands of Women in North Carolina Victims of Sterilization.” People’s World, 7 Nov. 2011). Notably, IQ tests have a long history of ingrained racism, with skewed questions and frames of reference designed to ensure that Black people score significantly lower than white people. A county officer would petition the board for approval of sterilization. Consent was required, but in practice, this consent could be granted by a guardian or spouse if the person to be sterilized did not grant it. Oral histories and other research reveal instances where individuals were not made fully aware of what they were consenting to. North Carolina’s laws came to allow anyone to file a petition to have another person forcibly sterilized. One report shows an individual filing a petition for the forced sterilization of his neighbor because he deemed her sexually promiscuous (Cohen, Elizabeth. “North Carolina Lawmakers OK Payments for Victims of Forced Sterilization.” CNN, 28 July 2013). Until 1940, white Americans composed four-fifths of those who were sterilized. By the 1960s, however, the number of petitions filed by social workers to sterilize African Americans constituted nearly 99% of the total petitions. By its closure in 1977, the Board had sterilized 7,600 North Carolinians (“Eugenics Board.” North Carolina History Project).

In the 2000s, measures were taken to repair some of the damage wrought by the eugenics practices. In 2013, North Carolina’s legislature became the first of the 32 states that practiced forced sterilization to grant reparations (Neuman, Scott. “North Carolina Set to Compensate Forced Sterilization Victims.” NPR, 25 July 2013). Ten million dollars was designated for the more than 1,500 living survivors of this practice. Likewise, the United States Senate “voted unanimously to help surviving victims of forced sterilizations” in 2015 (Ko, Lisa. “Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States.” Independent Lens, 29 Jan. 2016).