“Haunted Files: The Eugenics Record Office"

On October 13th 2014 the New York times published a piece on a laboratory that back in the 1910's to 30's used to be an office that kept records of eugenics. Eugenics, by definition is "the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics)." This laboratory, located on Long Island Sound, has now recreated the eugenics office in 2014, complete with files discovered that actually housed the material in question. "Today, all that remains of it are files and photographs — reams of discredited research that once shaped anti-immigration laws, spurred forced-sterilization campaigns and barred refugees from entering Ellis Island. Now, historians and artists at New York University are bringing the eugenics office back into the public eye," says Joshua A. Krisch of the New York Times. This building is transporting its visitors back into a time where this idea was common practice, the idea that one could dismiss people because of their race, they could supposedly weed out characteristics that were not "pleasing" in humans, and the hope of building/concocting a superior human being was at the forefront.




This office was once the center of eugenics in America, a place where documents and photographs were held to hold record of the "undesirable traits" that lesser people were supposed to have had, and also pinpointed "strains" certain races put on American society (or white society).  The idea came up to cross human genetics, like Mendel had done with his pea pod plants, to create a better human. The scientist believed it was possible to locate favored genes and discard the ones that were not wanted and create a super race of a human, complete with all the brains and looks one could hope for to be ahead in life. Only certain traits were coveted however, like pale skin and intelligence, often looking to Nordic and Anglo-Saxon people for their genes. People that were disabled in any way, or "immoral", were cast aside often by means of sterilization (mostly against their will) so that their tainted genes could not mix with the pure ones.

According to Krisch, the Eugenics Record Office did not close until 1939, as he said in an interview, but even after it's closing, experiments and procedures were still being done to sterilize people well into the 1960s to prevent undesirable traits from circulating in society. While open, this facility was funded by many well-known organizations and people, including the Rockefeller family and renowned biologist Charles Davenport headed the research. The job of the facility itself was mainly to categorize and keep note of what were undesirable traits in people of lesser groups (as in those living in slums) as well as take note of desirable skin tones.




The "early 20th-century eugenicists channeled Progressive Era ideals of social advancement and state management toward the pursuit of "race betterment' and the defense of Anglo-American racial purity" through their field research, and kept all of the findings in this facility. A lot of what was contained in this building was based on hearsay and propaganda, categorizing people as "criminally insane" when they were simply incarcerated, and generalizing people's poor living condition and inability to succeed based on their appearance (skin color, head size, aesthetics of their appearance). "These eugenics studies collected information such as inborn physical, mental and temperamental properties to enable [families] to trace the segregation and recombination of inborn or heritable qualities. The family study files include individual analysis cards, field worker reports, pedigree charts, and special trait studies." Davenport, the leader of the eugenics movement was pushing for the research by "lobbying for eugenic legislation to restrict immigration and sterilize "defectives," educating the public on eugenic health, and disseminating eugenic ideas widely."



 The Haunted Files program at the old ERO office is mainly set up to highlight the inequality towards Asian Americans at the time and how "policies and legislation set the groundwork for the “scientific racism” of modern American politics". The program's main goal is to show that because of occurrences like this happened in history, the lasting effects of the racism is still around today, especially when one thinks about immigration, belonging, race, self-worth based off of racial identity, and normal practice. Using history like the Eugenics Record Office to bring up a much-needed discussion of practices in modern day is a crucial step in starting conversation and hopefully moving forward as a nation.





"Archives." Eugenics Record Office. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, n.d. Web. Nov. 2014.

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition. "Eugenics." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. Nov. 2014.

Fuller, Noah, and John Kuo Wei Tchen. "Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University." Asian/Pacific/American Institute at New York University. A/p/a, n.d. Web. Nov. 2014.

Krisch, Joshua A. "When Racism Was a Science." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. Nov. 2014.

"LONG ISLAND'S EUGENICS RECORD OFFICE FOCUS OF ASIAN/PACIFIC/AMERICAN INSTITUTE INSTALLATION." States News Service 8 Sept. 2014. Academic OneFile. Web.  Nov. 2014.