Much like the North Carolina legislators, those in Mississippi based their arguments on claims about who is fit to have children, specifically those on government assistance. Rep. Walter Meek of Eupora, Miss., said that “the State of Mississippi is subsidizing illegitimacy through welfare payments, and that the moral structure has completely broken down in some segments of society.”
Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy is a historian of United States history with a specialization in African American history, the history of medicine and public history. He earned his PhD and MA in history at Mississippi State University, where he now teaches, and his BA in history at the University of Florida. His current project examines the various methods of sterilization used to maintain and reinforce white supremacy in the South during and immediately after the African American Civil Rights Movement.
