Race & Eugenics

Read the handout on Malcolm X & Martin Luther King, Jr.

Galton, (remember him?) the biological determinist who coined the idea of nature vs. nurture, supported the idea of eugenics: The belief (and practice) of improving the genetic quality of the human race through selective breeding, extermination, (or sterilization in some cases), separating the superior from the inferior. Eugenics was practiced in the US years before Hitler got his claws into the idea to exterminate the Jews (and others). During the Progressive Era, eugenics was seen as the best way to preserve and improve the dominant Hegemony in our population. 

Perhaps not surprisingly, the American eugenics movement received funding from various corporate foundations (the 1%) including the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Eugenics record office (ERO) was located in Cold Spring Harbor, NY by Charles Davenport. The ERO was one of the leading organizations to promote eugenics in seeking a solution to the problem of the "unfit" members of our society.

Before we throw stones, even prominent Black scholars and writers like W.E.B. Du Bois and Thomas Wyatt Turner believed "the best blacks were as good as the best whites (the talented tenth) of all races should mix", the idea of which is supporting eugenics. W.E.B. Du Bois stated that "only fit blacks should procreate to eradicate the race's heritage of moral iniquity..." see article for more information. Even "Better Baby" contests were held.

• Discuss

View any of the following today in the lab, or as homework, or for next class:
Short videos to consider as inspiration/knowledge for your writing. Watch, take notes, brainstorm ideas for stories, plays, poems, podcasts, scripts, essays, memoirs, speeches, etc.:

• The Twisted Logic Behind America's Shameful Eugenic History (6 min)
• Further race/ethnicity info (Kahn Academy lecture, 6 min)
• The "real" Problem with Black America: Ben Shapiro
• Let's Talk About Race: TedX
• Black Self/White World: TedX
• Give Racism a Chance: TedX
• What Beyonce Taught Me About Race: TedX
• The Top 5 Issues Facing Black Americans
• The Myth of Escaping the Ghetto: TedX
• Why are Black Women so Angry
• The History of Eugenics in America (video series) (about 130 minutes, broken into 10 min videos)
• CRISPR

Things to research (in the lab, on your own, during this unit, etc.):

• One drop rule
• Better Baby contests
• Beauty contests (& beauty pageant history)
• Nature versus Nurture
• Immigration
• Jim Crow laws
• The Negro Motorist Green Book 
• Current events regarding immigration
• Women in minority cultures/races

Use the discussion prompts today to write something regarding race in a creative way. Write creatively about the topic. 

HOMEWORK: Please read Chapter Three, Four, & Five of American War.

Please join us tonight or tomorrow for the Playwrights' Festival: 7:00 in the Blackbox Theatre. Extra credit for those who attend. Creative writing majors attend free. Friends/family should buy a ticket: $5 for students/$10 adults.