Equal: A Work in Progress – Defining the “Ideal Citizen”

Registration closes 2 hours prior to the start of the program.

Free Program (registration required)
Additional opportunities available to support IHS as we continue collecting, preserving, and sharing Indiana’s history.

For the third conversation of Equal: A Work in Progress we will explore the complex and controversial intertwining policies surrounding eugenics, public health, classicism, racism, and immigration restriction.

On March 9, 1907, the Indiana Legislature passed the first-ever compulsory eugenic law, making sterilization mandatory for certain individuals with mental and intellectual disabilities. This ongoing pursuit of an ideal society gave power to a select few to curate citizenship rights around those whom they considered “undesirable”, through theories in reproductive rights, immigration restrictions, and other policies.

Indiana’s constitution declares “that all people are created equal”. Though this revolutionary idea is a foundational principle of our state, it is marred by a myriad of contradictions. This ongoing series of interdisciplinary conversations examines our collective definition of equality at key moments in Indiana’s history to better understand who is considered a citizen, who gets a seat at the table, and who maintains power in our society.

Featuring:
Sarah M. Halter, M.A. – heritage steward, medical historian, advocate | Indiana Medical History Museum

Dr. James Peightel, M.D. – psychiatry specialist, humanitarian, leader | Resources for Human Development

Jill Weiss Simins, M.A. – author, historian, producer, and promoter | Indiana Historical Bureau

With:
Nicole Martinez-LeGrand, M.A. – author, curator, changemaker | Indiana Historical Society