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.
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About the Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship
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.
Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship 2026
The 2026 Carrie Buck Distinguished Fellowship Keynote Event will be held on April 28, 2026 at 1 p.m. ET. The event will be held online only.
Register for the 2026 Keynote Event, Pleasure as a Human Right
For far too long, the conversation around disability and autonomy has focused almost exclusively on basic survival and medical necessity. In this keynote lecture, writer and disability advocate Evan Sweeney will challenge this "survival-only" paradigm by centering pleasure as a fundamental human right.
Drawing from his work as a sex educator and founder of Cripping Up Sex, Evan will explore the systemic barriers that desexualize disabled bodies and the radical act of reclaiming intimacy. This session will introduce the Access Archive—a new digital library of adaptive techniques and storytelling—and offer a roadmap for moving beyond mere "access" toward a future where disabled joy and desire are recognized as essential to the human experience.
Helpful Resources about Carrie Buck, the Buck v. Bell case, and Eugenics
Lombardo, P. A. (2008; updated 2022). Three generations, no imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell. Johns Hopkins University Press.
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