RALEIGH
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 program began in 1929 and lasted into the 1970s. Thirty-one other states passed eugenics laws, but while most states began phasing out their programs in the 1940s, North Carolina increased the frequency of its sterilizations.
Two years ago, the state opened an exhibit at the N.C. Museum of History examining the sterilization era. Now, the era is being recognized by the state's newest historical marker, a silver-and-black, cast-aluminum sign located in downtown Raleigh.
The sign contains a historical description of the eugenics program. It will be dedicated at a 5 p.m. Monday ceremony that will be attended by state leaders and several living victims of the program.
State Reps. Larry Womble and Earline Parmon, both D-Forsyth, will unveil the marker. They have been two of the leading advocates on behalf of sterilization victims.
Womble said that the marker is an important symbolic gesture, and he said that North Carolina has done more than most states to honor the victims of its eugenics program. But he and Parmon so far have been unable to secure more tangible benefits -- such as financial reparations -- for the victims.
The extent of the eugenics program was not widely known until 2002, when a researcher with access to the records shared them with the Winston-Salem Journal, which published a series of articles.
North Carolina has 1,538 roadside markers honoring historical sites. Most do not commemorate such dark elements of the state's history, but a few do.
"The state's history is not all a path of roses," said Michael Hill, a research supervisor at the N.C. Office of Archives and History. "We think that our task is to reflect all aspects of the state's history with these signs."
The marker, which cost $1,475, is located at 200 W. Jones St. in Raleigh, in front of the N.C. Community Colleges building. That location was chosen because it is one block away from where the Eugenics Board met for most of its history.
■ James Romoser can be reached at 919-210-6794 or at
jromoser@wsjournal.com.
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