By: theottery

theottery — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:42:03 +0000

Ah, the twisted eugenics movement. You know what’s a really interesting read? Angelina Weld Grimke (the African American great-niece of the white abolotionist–now THERE’s an interesting family history) has a short story called “The Closing Door” that was published in The Birth Control Review in the 1910s. From one angle, you can read it as a protest against lynching; but, because the main character turns against having children (because she doesn’t want to bring children into a world where they could be lynched because of the color of their skin), the story could actually end up serving the agenda of the racist eugenicists (anything to keep “those people” from reproducing). The story’s in a collection called The Sleeper Wakes, and it’s fascinating for anyone interested in the cultural history of the period.

By: Mink

Mink — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:51:55 +0000

Yup. We’re just not that good at researching our heroic icons. Your complaint synchs with a recent post on Dawn Eden’s blog about Margaret Sanger (not Dawn’s only post, by any means, on Sanger). Sanger, still championed by advocates of women’s rights for her insistence on the right to birth control, was an avid eugenicist, whose promotion of contraception had an overtly racist agenda. Ironically, Planned Parenthood’s first Margaret Sanger award was given to Martin Luther King Jr. (!!!) Her legacy is awfully confusing, not least because she was herself inconsistent in her beliefs and their expression. I would think that she wouldn’t be a very useful figure to pro-choice organizations, nor to feminists, nor to minority communities. But she is to all. Honestly, do some reading, people…

Comments on: Silver-Dollar Stupidity

By: theottery

By: Mink