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1 Yesterday, I retweeted a tweet from Robert P. George, a legal scholar, political philosopher, and author from Princeton University, which caused a stir. The tweet said that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist and a racist.
1 Yesterday, I retweeted a tweet from Robert P. George, a legal scholar, political philosopher, and author from Princeton University, which caused a stir. The tweet said that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist and a racist.
2 Furthermore, George intimated that it would be logically consistent to remove her statue (a bust in the National Portrait Gallery in DC) along with other historical monuments which have recently been removed, vandalized, or toppled.
3 To my surprise, my retweet caused concern among some that I was being dismissive of, or insensitive to, the historical and modern plight of black Americans. This was not at all my intention and I sincerely apologize for any feelings of hurt or distress that I caused.
4 For 30 years I have been a passionate and vocal pro-life advocate. To my mind, George’s tweet persuasively and cleverly made a point about Margaret Sanger’s controversial legacy. I viewed his tweet through my pro-life lens and saw a pro-life message as the essential point.
5 I was raised in a beautiful, loving, and multi-racial home. I have been keenly sensitive to racial inequality and injustice since I was a boy. So this isn’t a new trend or discovery for me. But the truth is we can all learn and grow in our understanding of others. Pray for me.
6 Regarding monuments or memorials which expressly immortalize and even aggrandize historical racism, such as statues of Confederate generals, I believe they should be removed. This has been my considered position for many years.
7 In the replies to my retweet, some made a distinction about outdoor vs indoor memorials. It was proposed that those outdoors are more honorary and those indoors more historical/educational. This is, I think, a fair distinction and I appreciate the feedback. I'll return to this.
8 It pains my heart to think that I have caused good people hurt or distress, even if it was done unintentionally. Again, please accept my sincere apology.
The rest of this thread addresses the question of Margaret Sanger’s alleged racism. If that is of interest to you, read on.
The rest of this thread addresses the question of Margaret Sanger’s alleged racism. If that is of interest to you, read on.
9 It was suggested by some that Robert P. George’s characterization of Sanger as a racist was inaccurate and unhistorical. Links were sent to this effect. So I spent the day looking into the subject of Sanger’s legacy particularly with regards to racism. It was clarifying.
10 Unsurprisingly, Planned Parenthood has more recently and vigorously labored to distance their founder from the charge of racism, though even they concede: “Sanger also had some beliefs, practices, and associations that we acknowledge and denounce.” https://www.plannedparenthood.org/uploads/filer_public/37/fd/37fdc7b6-de5f-4d22-8c05-9568268e92d8/sanger_opposition_claims_fact_sheet_2016.pdf.
11 From the same PP document: “The racism of social policy at the time and the prevalent paternalistic attitudes that caused some philanthropists to try to metaphorically ‘lift up’ the voices of African Americans may have influenced Sanger.”
"May have" is very generous of them.
"May have" is very generous of them.
12 PP also admits that in 1926 Sanger gave a speech to a women’s auxiliary branch of the Ku Klux Klan in Silver Lake, New Jersey. It cannot be denied that she kept some questionable company; several of her friends and even people she hired were expressly racist.
13 Dr Angela Franks, a professor of theology at St. John’s seminary in Boston and the author of Margaret Sanger’s Eugenic Legacy: The Control of Female Fertility, has done considerable research on Sanger’s controversial ideas and legacy.
Book here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MH41G8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Book here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MH41G8/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
14 Dr Franks: “Sanger was a eugenic bigot but probably not a racist. [Her] views seem to be the following: she was a committed eugenicist, advocating the worst eugenic policies––such as forced eugenic sterilization––but not a racist.
The words “probably” & “seem” are important.
The words “probably” & “seem” are important.
15 Some are less measured in their assessment of Sanger’s racism. In the 2017 PBS short film Anti-abortion Crusaders: Inside the African-American Abortion Battle filmmaker Yoruba Richen (black) interviews Dr Cynthia Greenlee (black), a pro-choice reproductive rights historian.
16 Dr Greenlee says matter-of-factly, “Margaret Sanger is the lightning rod… But Sanger was a racist in that she believed that black people were ignorant and unable to make choices without some intervention.”
From a black reproductive rights historian: "Sanger was a racist."
From a black reproductive rights historian: "Sanger was a racist."
17 John J. Conley, the Knott Chair of Philosophy and Theology at Loyola University, is similarly straightforward: “Sanger’s eugenics project carried its own racial preoccupation.”
PP, Franks, Greenlee, Conley all raise yellow-to-red flags of historical concern.
PP, Franks, Greenlee, Conley all raise yellow-to-red flags of historical concern.
18 From a Christian perspective, Sanger held and advocated some indisputably unbiblical and immoral ideas. I could add more references, but it's Twitter and this is already long. But here’s a little (nauseating) taste of Sanger’s writing and thinking:
19 So, was Robert P. George’s assertion that Sanger was a “racist eugenicist” accurate? Well, at best she was, as Dr Franks says, “a eugenic bigot.” But I agree with George, I think she was clearly racist. Would she be considered racist by today's standards? Unquestionably.
20 Finally, should Margaret Sanger’s memorials (for example, a bust in the Nat’l Portrait Gallery and Margaret Sanger Square in Manhattan, NY) be removed or renamed along with other historical monuments that enshrine racism and bigotry?
I answer without hesitation: yes!
You?
I answer without hesitation: yes!
You?
