Keystone Books are intended to serve the citizens of Pennsylvania. They are accessible, well-researched explorations into the history, culture, society, and environment of the Keystone State as part of the Middle Atlantic region.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Downey, Dennis B., 1952 editor. | Conroy, James W., 1948 editor.
Title: Pennhurst and the struggle for disability rights / edited by Dennis B. Downey and James W. Conroy ; with a foreword by Dick and Ginny Thornburgh.
Description: University Park, Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University Press, [2020] | Keystone books. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: A comprehensive study of the history of the Pennhurst State School and Hospital (190887), a state-operated institution in Pennsylvania for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Explores Pennhursts enduring impact on the disability civil rights movement in AmericaProvided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019059655 | ISBN 9780271086033 (cloth)
Subjects: LCSH: Pennhurst State School (Pa.)History. | Intellectual disability facilities patientsCarePennsylvaniaHistory20th century. | Intellectual disability facilities patientsAbuse ofPennsylvaniaHistory20th century. | Intellectual disability facilities patientsDeinstitutionalizationPennsylvaniaHistory20th century. | Intellectual disability facilities patientsLegal status, laws, etc.PennsylvaniaHistory20th century.
Classification: LCC HV3006.P42 P45 2020 | DDC 362.2/10974813dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019059655
Copyright 2020 The Pennsylvania State University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 168021003
The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of University Presses.
It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Material, ANSI Z39.481992.
To the lives, memory, and lasting contribution of the 10,600 people who lived at Pennhurst during its seventy-nine-year history. They represent the lives of approximately six hundred thousand American citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities who lived in public institutions from 1850 to the present. Their struggles and their triumphs have helped change the nations policies.
Galleries (following page 233)
1. Pennhurst campus aerial view, 1922. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
2. Pennhurst administration building, 1920. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
3. Staff and working patients, 1954. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
4. Dining hall segregated by gender, 1916. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
5. Rules governing paroletrial releases prior to dischargebefore and after photos, ca. 1940. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
6. Toilets lacking privacy. Photo taken ca. 1970 as a demonstration. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
7. Young men in uniform dress and haircuts, interracial, ca. 1960. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
8. Crowded beds at Pennhurst. Photo taken by FBI in 1975. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
9. Dental surgery clinic, ca. 1925. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
10. Albert New with his son Martin upon admission in 1944. Courtesy of Ms. Rebecca Fisher, great-niece of Martin New.
11. Pennsylvania map of institutions, ca. 1923. Record Group 10, Office of the Governor, Governor Robert P. Casey. Proclamations (series #10.3). Courtesy of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives.
12. Key actors in Halderman v. Pennhurst : Peter Polloni, Arc director then state agency director; Carla Morgan, special master for the court; Tom Gilhool, lead attorney for the Arc. From the collection of James W. Conroy.
13. Some of the forty marker stones at the Pennhurst Cemetery, nearly all from the 1918 epidemic of Spanish flu. Photo: James W. Conroy.
14. Stone commemorating conversion of marker stones from numbers to names, 1978. Photo: James W. Conroy.
15. Elizabeth Betty Potts, first person to leave Pennhurst under Judge Brodericks federal court order, accepting award at Speaking for Ourselves Banquet, 1987. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
16. Speaking for Ourselves Retreat at Fellowship Farm, 1987. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
17. Speaking for Ourselves president Roland Johnson at the First North American People First Conference, 1990. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
18. Speaking for Ourselves officers Debbie Robinson, Roland Johnson, and Steve Dorsey at the White House ADA signing, 1990. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
19. Speaking for Ourselves Tenth Anniversary Banquet, 1992Roland Johnson, Steve Dorsey, Betty Potts, Justin Dart, Luann Carter, Gunnar Dybwad. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
20. Recording the Speaking for Ourselves anthem with Karl Williams, Debbie Robinson, and Luann Carter, 1995. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
21. March to the Capitol to close institutions, 2000. Courtesy of Speaking for Ourselves. Photo: Mark Friedman.
22. The decay of Pennhurst courtyard from 1987 to 2007. Photo: Thomas Neuville.
23. Decay of Devon Hall with adjacent playground, 2007. Photo: Thomas Neuville.
24. Decay shown by overgrowth at approach to the administration building, 2008. Photo: James W. Conroy.
25. Original decorative art on administration building prior to decay. Photo: James W. Conroy.
26. Defaced decorative art, 2014. Photo: Thomas Neuville.
27. Physicians mansion and greenhouse in decay prior to demolition, 2016. Photo: James W. Conroy.
28. Original appearance of physicians mansion, ca. 1920. Courtesy of the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.
29. Keystone Hall with glass block dayrooms, prior to demolition, 2008. Photo: James W. Conroy.
30. Keystone Hall remains after demolition, 2017. Photo: James W. Conroy.
31. Pennhurst water tower, a local landmark for decades, 2006. Photo: James W. Conroy.
32. Water tower in the midst of demolition, 2017. Photo: James W. Conroy.
