Contact the Center
Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History
UNCW Library, Discovery Hall, 2nd floor
5162 Randall Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28403
csencah@uncw.edu
910-962-7810
Visit the Center
Location
The Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History is located on the 2nd floor of Discovery Hall in the UNCW Library.
Hours
The Center is open for research visits Monday-Friday from 10am to 2pm, except for UNCW holidays and breaks. Visit our website to view upcoming closures.
Access Policies
Prior to visiting the Center, users should familiarize themselves with our access and use policies.
CSENCAH Collections Related to Eugenics
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Eugenics and sex harmony : the sexes, their relations and problems, including recent fascinating medical discoveries, prevention of disease, and special advice for common disorders byCall Number: HQ31 .R88 1933Publication Date: 1933
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Modern eugenics for men and women : a complete medical guide to a thorough understanding of the principles of health and sex relations byCall Number: HQ751 .M45 1928Publication Date: 1928
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The Science of eugenics and sex life : the regeneration of the human race byCall Number: RG121 .M52 1914Publication Date: 1914
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Inquiries into human faculty and its development byCall Number: BF701 .G23 1908Publication Date: 1908
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Evaluating the historical, current and future role of social workers in context of the sterilizations performed by North Carolina byCall Number: LD3971.7.H6 2013 .F67Publication Date: 2013This honors paper is available online as well as in print.
MS 33 John Jay Burney, Jr. Legislative Papers: This collections contains the legislative papers of North Carolina State Senator John J. Burney, Jr. Senator Burney represented New Hanover County from 1966-1972. The link above will take you to the full finding aid for this collection. Included in the collection is an original report from the North Carolina Eugenics Board for the 1964-1966 biennium.
- box 30 folder 677: NC Eugenics Board Report 1964-1966
MS 46 Hubert Eaton Papers: Hubert Eaton was a Black doctor and civil rights activist who lived in Wilmington from the 1940s until his death in the 1980s. He was instrumental in campaigning and filing lawsuits to integrate several public institutions in Wilmington, including the local hospital system. His collection contains a vast amount of material related to racially segregated healthcare, particularly in the state of North Carolina. The link above will take you to the finding aid for the full collection. There are a few items in Eaton's papers related to the topic of eugenics/forced sterilization, described in detail below. Be advised that this collection has a copying restriction in place. You will not be able to photograph or reproduce any documents from the collection, although you may consult them, take notes on them, and cite them in your class project.
- box 3 folder 31: Sterilization procedures for Community Hospital
- box 17 folder 8: A Proposal on Population & Family, 1967 April
Online Resources on Eugenics in North Carolina
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UNCW Marine Sciences ScrapbookFrom RG-05 UNCW Academic Department Records, this scrapbook contains a 1979 article (linked here) by UNCW's professor Daniel Plyler touting the scientific benefits of eugenics.
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The Seahawk (March 22 1974)This issue of UNCW's student newspaper, the Seahawk, contains an article about a victim of forced sterilization entitled "Union Files Suit for Black Rights."
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UNCW Academic Catalogs Mentioning EugenicsThis link will take you to a list of search results in UNCW Library's Digital Collections, showing several early course catalogs that mention eugenics courses being taught on campus.
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Government Documents Related to EugenicsThis link will take you to a list of search results in the UNCW Library catalog displaying several government documents related to eugenics both in North Carolina and nationally. Of special interest is the preliminary report of the Governor's Task Force to Determine the Method of Compensation for Victims of North Carolina's Eugenics Board, which describes victims of forced sterilization in the Wilmington area.
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Eugenics Legislation in North CarolinaLinked here are North Carolina legislative acts relating to eugenics found in the North Carolina Digital Collections or on the General Assembly website.
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274 US 200 Buck vs. BellFrom UNCW's HeinOnline database, this report from the U.S. Supreme Court Library discusses a court case related to forced sterilization in Virginia.
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204 NC Brewer vs. ValkFrom UNCW's HeinOnline database, this document describes cases from the state of North Carolina that were argued in the Supreme Court. This particular case relates to the "sterilization of mental defectives."
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Documents on Eugenics in North Carolina from the NC Digital CollectionsThe State Archives and State Library of North Carolina hold numerous documents related to the history of the eugenics movement in our state, many of which have been digitized and included in this collection.
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Eugenics Movement in North Carolina Primary Source SetThis primary source set from the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center uses newspaper articles, newspaper advertisements, and a bulletin to illustrate the effects of sterilization, eugenic ideas, and eugenic legislation in North Carolina.
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Human Betterment League of North Carolina, Inc. Records, 1947-1988The records of the main eugenics activist body in North Carolina, the Human Betterment League, are kept at UNC-Chapel Hill at the Wilson Library. Records include correspondence, reports, minutes, financial and legal records, films, and other materials, a handful of which are accessible online (including an audio recording of the pro-eugenics film Wednesday's Child). This link will take you to the finding aid for the collection.
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RG 149 Eugenics Commission Record GroupThe records of North Carolina's state eugenics board are housed at the State Archives in Raleigh. These records are not available online and are restricted from public use. This link will take you to the collection's finding aid, where you can read more about the Eugenics Commission and see a list of files present in this collection.
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Asylum in the Archive Initiative DataverseThis is the data archive for the Asylum in the Archive Initiative, conducted by the Community Histories Workshop, a project out of UNC-Chapel Hill. The dataset includes historical records from Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh and some minutes of the North Carolina Eugenics Board.