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States of Delinquency: Race and Science in the Making of California's Juvenile Justice System PDF

237 Pages·2012·3.125 MB·English
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States of Delinquency AMERICAN CROSSROADS Edited by Earl Lewis, George Lipsitz, George Sánchez, Dana Takagi, Laura Briggs, and Nikhil Pal Singh States of Delinquency Race and Science in the Making of California’s Juvenile Justice System Miroslava Chávez-García University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2012 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chávez-García, Miroslava, 1968- States of delinquency : race and science in the making of California’s juvenile justice system / Miroslava Chávez-García. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-520-27171-5 (cloth : alk. paper)— ISBN 978-0-520-27172-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Juvenile justice, Administration of—California—History. 2. Minority youth—California—History. 3. Juvenile delinquents —California—History. 4. Crime and race—California—History. 5. Eugenics—California—History. 6. Whittier State School (Whittier, Calif.) 7. Preston School of Industry (Ione, Calif.) I. Title. HV9105.C2C43 2012 364.3609794—dc23 2011033524 Manufactured in the United States of America 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Rolland Enviro100, a 100% post-consumer fiber paper that is FSC certified, deinked, processed chlorine-free, and manufactured with renewable biogas energy. It is acid-free and EcoLogo certified. To my children, Eliana Aliyah García and Evan Abraham García, and to the youths in this study. Thank you for your inspiration. The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Anne G. Lipow Endowment Fund for Social Justice and Human Rights of the University of California Press Foundation, which was established by Stephen M. Silberstein. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Building Juvenile Justice Institutions in California 2. Fred C. Nelles: Innovative Reformer, Conservative Eugenicist 3. Mildred S. Covert: Eugenics Fieldworker, Racial Pathologist 4. Cristobal, Fred, Tony, and Albert M.: Specimens in Scientific Research and Race Betterment 5. Otto H. Close: Promising Leader, Complacent Bureaucrat 6. The Legacy of Benny Moreno and Edward Leiva: “Defective Delinquents” or Tragic Heroes? Epilogue: Recovering Youths’ Voices Notes Bibliography Index Illustrations 1. Fred C. Nelles 2. Pedro C. 3. Victor R. 4. John A. 5. Fred O. Butler 6. Family History Tree 7. Sonoma State Home 8. Solitary Confinement Units of the Lost Privilege Cottage 9. Edward Leiva 10. Ben B. Lindsey 11. Leiva Family 12. Frank Aguirre Acknowledgments This book represents the collective effort of the many people who shared their knowledge and spared their time in helping me weave these stories. Among those who played critical roles is the brilliant Alexandra M. Stern, whose guidance, patience, and generosity in the early stages of this project steered me in the right direction. Norm Skonovd, a sociologist, professor, and employee of the Department of Corrections provided great insight on the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (formerly Whittier State School) and piqued my curiosity in searching for more details and nuances of the institution. Equally supportive and adept colleagues who provided significant feedback at various points include Sunaina Maira, Tony Platt, Vicki Ruiz, and Steven S. Schlossman. I am particularly grateful to those colleagues who took time from their busy schedules to hear and/or read parts of my work and provide feedback. They include Sasha Abramsky, Al Camarillo, Ernesto Chávez, Nathaniel Deutsch, Marta Gutman, Anne Meis Knupfer, Sunaina Maira, Paula Moya, Tony Platt, Vicki Ruiz, Norm Skonovd, Alexandra M. Stern, and Rashad Shabazz. I also had the great fortune of participating in several important symposiums on eugenics, imprisonment, and delinquency, including “From Eugenics to Designer Babies: Engineering the California Dream,” held at California State University–Sacramento in 2005; “Incarcerations and Detentions,” organized at the University of California–Los Angeles in 2010; “Writing Policing and Punishment into Modern U.S. History,” held at Rutgers University in 2010; and “Juvenile Delinquency in Comparative (East-West) Contexts,” organized at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Those experiences—and the individuals who participated—contributed to this project by helping me to think in new ways about delinquency, youth, race, and science. Thank you, too, in particular to Alex Wellerstein, a graduate student at Harvard University, who shared his writing and resources on Sonoma State Home. In creating this work, I also had the opportunity to collaborate and share resources with many other smart colleagues who have taught me a lot about race, class, gender, psychology, eugenics, and juvenile justice. They include William “Bill” Bush, William “Bill” Deverell, Yvette Flores, Milmon Harrison, Laura Mihailoff, Natalia Molina, Tamara Myers, Judith R. Raftery, Eddie Salas, and Geoff Ward. David M. Hernandez merits particular praise for his fabulous suggestion for the title of this book. My colleagues and former students also deserve a million thanks for their support throughout this process. My colleagues in the Chicana/o Studies Department at UC Davis merit praise for their patience in allowing me to steal time away from teaching and service to focus on my research. Lorena Marquez, a former doctoral student and recent Ph.D., warrants mil gracias for her unflagging support and generous ear. Many undergraduate students at UC Davis also contributed to this project. Research assistants Liliana Madrid, Dominique “Niki”

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