The photograph displayed above is entitled "Carrie and Emma Buck at the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded, taken by A.H. Estabrook the day before the Buck v. Bell trial in Virginia." Credit: Arthur Estabrook Papers, M.E. Grenander Special Collections & Archives, University at Albany, SUNY. Carrie Buck is on the photograph's left, next to her mother.
Upcoming Third Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship Keynote Event
"Permission, Pleasure, and Power: Consent as the Foundation for Disability and Reproductive Justice"
Reproductive Justice and Disability Justice are deeply connected, and honoring that connection strengthens individuals and communities. Laura Millar is an independent consultant and the co-executive director of the Blind Sexuality Access Network, whose work is focused on how blind and disabled people are systematically denied access – not just to sexual healthcare or education, but to autonomy, pleasure, relationships, and even basic conversations that should never have been out of reach in the first place.
Access doesn't begin with ramps or braille, it begins with permission. Permission to ask questions, to understand and hold boundaries, to name desires, to be curious, and to exist as sexual beings without shame. Access is often shut down before those conversations even start. It’s denied by systemic, internalized and sexual ableism; and the microaggressions disabled people experience every day. Laura will discuss how consent is not just a yes-or-no moment, but a core component of Disability and Reproductive Justice. Laura recognizes that consent is a collective framework for how we relate to one another: with clarity, care, and cultural humility. For disabled people, consent culture can lead to true, holistic access and a richer, more fulfilling life.
Second Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship Keynote Event
The second Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship Keynote Event was held on March 7, 2024 as a discussion between Robin Wilson-Beattie and Rebecca Cokley of the Ford Foundation.
You may access the Keynote Event here.
You may also access the short video with Robin on our YouTube channel, or click play below.
About the Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship
2024 Fellow 2023 Fellow Advisory Board
In 1927, the US Supreme Court issued its infamous decision in the Buck v. Bell case, concerning the involuntary sterilization of Carrie Buck, a woman asserted to be "feeble minded." The majority opinion, which endorsed the involuntary sterilization of disabled people, was signed by Justice Louis Brandeis, after whom Brandeis University is named. "Three generations of imbeciles are enough," the decision pronounced. In spite of the ruling, over the past seventy years, researchers and advocates at Brandeis University have worked strenuously to combat discrimination against people with disabilities. As a university, we are working to address the legacy of Buck v. Bell in our work.
To honor Carrie Buck's memory and to take steps to rectify the injustice to which she and thousands of other people in the United States have been subjected, the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy has established the Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship. The fellowship, funded by the Ford Foundation, is intended for activists, scholars, and community organizers with disabilities whose work draws national attention to systemic ableism in reproductive health policy.
During the residency, the Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellow works with community members, researchers, and advocates to illuminate ways to eliminate ableist bias and create a healthcare system that meets the needs of all. The residency culminates in a public lecture hosted by the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy.
Our first Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship keynote event was held in March 2023
Learn more about the fellowship, its background, and our inaugural recipient, Laurie Bertram Roberts, in the short video below. More about Laurie is found at the link following.
Learn more about the 2023 Carrie Buck Fellow, Laurie Bertram Roberts
Helpful Resources
Lombardo, P. A. (2008). Three generations, no imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell.
Powell, R. M. (2021). From Carrie Buck to Britney Spears: Strategies for disrupting the ongoing reproductive oppression of disabled people. Virginia Law Review Online, 107, 246–271. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3902743