The Last Carolina Girl

The eugenics program in North Carolina stands as a stark and troubling chapter in the history of the United States. From 1929 to 1974, the state sanctioned a eugenics program aimed at preventing the reproduction of individuals deemed unfit or socially undesirable. This program was part of a broader movement that sought to apply principles of selective breeding to humans, influenced by white supremacist beliefs in racial superiority and the desire to engineer a “better” society. Supporters of eugenics spread propaganda through books, pamphlets, and posters at organized social functions and community events like fairs, as Church depicts in her novel. One fair poster uses a farmer’s scrutiny of his animals’ pedigree to justify human eugenics. The American eugenics program served as inspiration for the German Nazis’ theories and practices of “genetic cleansing” of what they deemed “inferior” races.

At its core, eugenics in North Carolina targeted people deemed mentally ill, intellectually disabled, or socially disadvantaged. Under the authority of the Eugenics Board, individuals—often without their complete understanding or consent—were sterilized to prevent them from having children. This practice was justified under the guise of preventing the transmission of undesirable traits to future generations and reducing the burden on society. The targets of the program were disproportionately poor, uneducated, and from marginalized communities, including African Americans, Indigenous people, and individuals with disabilities. Many sterilizations were carried out with little regard for due process or ethical considerations, often based on biased assessments of intelligence or social worth. In the novel, Dr. Foster represents the unchecked miscarriage of justice from eugenicists; he justifies sterilizing Leah without her consent by identifying her as “simpleminded,” though he fails to test her academic and intellectual abilities thoroughly.

The eugenics program in North Carolina secured legal traction after the Supreme Court Case Buck v. Bell. In 1924, Clarence Garland raped and impregnated Carrie Buck while she was living with her foster family. Carrie was subsequently institutionalized at the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded. Before her removal, Carrie lived a similar life to The Last Carolina Girl’s Leah Payne. Like Leah, Carrie was labeled “promiscuous,” a characteristic later used in Buck v. Bell that awarded the state legal authority to sterilize Carrie without her permission. Prior to the Supreme Court case, Carrie gave birth to a daughter who was immediately removed from her care and given to Carrie’s former foster family.

The aftermath of the eugenics program has had profound and lasting effects on individuals and communities. Many victims suffered severe emotional and psychological trauma upon discovering that they had been sterilized without their knowledge or understanding. Families fell apart, and the trust between marginalized communities and the state was severely damaged. Leah illustrates the repercussions of North Carolina’s eugenics program in the novel’s Epilogue as she describes the lasting emotional damage of her forced sterilization. The pain Leah experiences prevents her from reuniting with Mary Ann, even though the cousins shared a supportive relationship.

The legacy of the eugenics program in North Carolina serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of using pseudoscience and discriminatory ideologies to justify policies that infringe upon human rights. It underscores the importance of upholding ethical standards in scientific research and public policy and the need for vigilance against ideologies that seek to justify inequality and oppression.