Tracing the Origins of Mass Institutionalization of Persons with Disabilities in North America: Book talk with HPOD Fellow Alex Green

Harvard Law School Project on Disability (HPOD) fellow Alex Green presents a decade of research in his landmark biography of this lesser known historical figure in A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled. Fernald’s is the story of a doctor, educator, and policymaker who was unafraid to reverse course, even if it meant going up against some of the most powerful forces of his time. In his groundbreaking work, Green draws on extensive, unexamined archival evidence to unearth the hidden story of one of America’s largely forgotten, but most complex, conflicted, and significant figures to shed light on the origins of the United States’ overreliance on segregated institutions to provide care to persons with disabilities.

On April 9th, from 12:15 to 1:30 U.S. Eastern time, HPOD and the Disabled Law Students Association will co-host an in-person, lunchtime book talk with Alex Green in WCC TBD to probe his analysis of the historical record and explore the ramifications of this historical record for our understanding of the structure of service delivery systems for persons with disabilities today.