Pennhurst and the struggle for disability rights
Dennis B. Downey (Editor), James W. Conroy (Editor), Dick Thornburgh, Ginny Thornburgh
"Conceived in the era of eugenics as a solution to what was termed the "problem of the feeble-minded," state-operated institutions subjected people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to a life of compulsory incarceration. One of nearly 300 such facilities in the United States, Pennhurst State School and Hospital was initially hailed as a "model institution" but was later revealed to be a nightmare, where medical experimentation and physical and psychological abuse were rampant. At its peak, more than 3,500 residents were confined at Pennhurst, supervised by a staff of fewer than 600. Beginning in the 1950's, parent-advocates, social workers, and attorneys joined forces to challenge the dehumanizing conditions at Pennhurst. Their groundbreaking advocacy, accelerated in 1968 by the explosive televised exposé 'Suffer the Children', laid the foundation for lawsuits that transformed American jurisprudence and ended mass institutionalization in the United States. As a result, Pennhurst became a symbolic force in the disability civil rights movement in America and around the world. Using a blended narrative of essays and first-person accounts of survivors, parents, and activists, this compelling history will appeal both to those with connections to Pennhurst and to anyone interested in the history of institutionalization and the disability rights movement"-- Back cover
Print Book, English, 2020
The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, Pennsylvania, 2020