George,

Personally, I have been pleased to see coverage of the issue of involuntary sterilization, the media's identification of this practice as eugenics, and the highlighting of the connection between DeJarnette and the Nazi eugenics movement.

The issue of involuntary sterilization in Virginia is a very troubling one. We must keep in mind that people in the past had very different sensibilities than we do today, especially regarding the granting of rights to those who were not white, male and property-owning. That being said, people must know that involuntary sterlization continued in Virginia's institutions for persons with mental retardation well into the 1960's (and some report into the 1970's).

I do not feel that citizens of Virginia with mental retardation will secure their full human and civil rights until we as fellow Virginian's acknowledge how we have devalued and dehumanized people with disabilities in the past. Only then can we move on to the "new paradigm" Robert Silverstein recently wrote about in a wonderful Iowa Law Review article. In it he says:

"Society has historically imposed attitudinal and institutional barriers that subject persons with disabilties to lives of unjust dependency, segregation, isolation, and exclusion. ... Sometimes these attitudinal and institutional barriers are the result of deep-seated prejudice. At times, these barriers result from decisions to follow the 'old paradigm' of considering people with disabilities as 'defective' and in need of 'fixing.' At other times, these barriers are the result of thoughtlessness, indifference, or lack of understanding. ... A 'new paradigm' of disability has emerged that considers disability as a natural and normal part of the human experience. Rather than focussing on 'fixing' the individual, the 'new paradigm' focuses on taking effective and
meaningful action to 'fix' or modify the natural, constructed, cultural, and social environment. In other words, the focus of the 'new paradigm' is on eliminating the attitudinal and institutional barriers that preclude persons with disabilities from fully participating in society's mainstream."

To say that the new paradigm is "emerging" in Virginia is quite an overstatement. It's a big leap in 30 years to go from eugenics to full civil and human rights. But the recent discussions are a positive step.

To my mind, changing the names on buildings is just something for folks to do so they feel like they've done something honorable. I far prefer for the names to stay and for people to know and remember what these men did, both for good and for bad, and that they were flawed, as are we all.

Christina Delzingaro (electronic mail, December 5, 2000).

Editor's note: Christina Delzingaro is the Executive Director of ARC of the Piedmont.