The history of disability in America is still under-researched and poorly understood. This is especially true when it comes to the rise of eugenics and the mass atrocities committed against disabled people in its many institutions. At the heart of that story is Walter E. Fernald, the Massachusetts doctor who ran America’s oldest institution for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Fernald’s influential work has shaped the world’s understanding of disabilities over the last century.

During this program, Harvard Kennedy School’s Alex Green will discuss his book, A Perfect Turmoil: Walter E. Fernald and the Struggle to Care for America’s Disabled, and the story of his decade-long effort to uncover this previously untold history. He will also discuss his work with students and community members in Waltham, Mass., to memorialize patients at Fernald, change policy in Massachusetts, and rewrite a history that continues to impact millions of disabled people to this day.