The Logic of Eugenics Still Haunts Virginia
The abandoned Western State Hospital, c. 2004, since renovated into the Blackburn Inn. Image: Kipp Teague Elizabeth Catte’s new book examines how Virginia progressives believed the forced sterilization of poor whites would pave the way to a bright future—and how their legacy endures in national parks and prisons. Pure America: Eugenics and the Making of Modern Virginia Elizabeth Catte When Elizabeth Catte began researching Pure America, her new book about the history of eugenics in Virginia, her first act seemed, on its surface, like a non sequitur: she spent a night at a...
Source: bostonreview.net