Junius Wilson (October 8, 1908 March 17, 2001) was a deaf American who spent almost 70 years as a patient in a state mental institution despite not being mentally ill. Born in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, he attended a segregated school for deaf black children in Raleigh. He and other students were never taught American Sign Language (ASL) so they developed their own sign communication called "Raleigh signs", a form of Black American Sign Language. In 1925 a neighbor who felt uncomfortable around Wilson made an apparent false report to police that Wilson had attempted to rape his wife. Since he could not communicate with jail staff and family members did not relay the fact Wilson was deaf, it was assumed he was insane. During a lunacy hearing a judge deemed Wilson mentally ill and a danger to himself and others. At the age of 17 he was sent to the State Hospital for the Colored Insane, now known as Cherry Hospital, in Goldsboro.
Wilson spent several years in the criminally insane ward until he was sterilized and castrated based on a state eugenics program. Wilson became reserved and submissive which aligned with the goals of racial eugenics during the Jim Crow era. He was transferred to the hospital's farm colony where he worked without pay for more than three decades. His father and a sister attempted to have him released in 1947, but they were turned away. It was the last time anyone in his immediate family attempted to visit him.
Deinstitutionalization greatly reduced the number of patients at the hospital, but patients like Wilson were seen as good workers and unable to live on their own. Staff members did not think Wilson was mentally ill but changed his patient status to involuntary commitment to align with new laws. He would often grow frustrated with staff members who only communicated with him via gestures. He was unable to relay his thoughts or feelings since no one bothered to learn his previous history using Raleigh signs. In 1981 an evaluator with knowledge of ASL attempted to communicate with Wilson, the first time this had happened with a staff member since his arrival in 1925. Despite being told Wilson should receive care from people who knew sign language, no changes were made. Wilson suffered a stroke in 1986 which weakened his dominant signing hand, further hindering his ability to communicate.
Wilson's legal guardian and an attorney began contacting state government officials in 1991 to make immediate changes to Wilson's care, including ASL education for staff members, in an attempt to rectify the decades of ableism, paternalism, and racism he had experienced. A settlement was reached in 1992 to guarantee personalized medical care following coverage in news media. A family member of the man who accused Wilson of rape filed a lawsuit on Wilson's behalf, but it was eventually dismissed. Wilson's guardian negotiated a new settlement which guaranteed round-the-clock medical care and a relatively small financial amount. At the age of 85 Wilson was moved out of the hospital's locked ward and he lived in a small cottage on the hospital property. Wilson died in 2001 and was buried at Wayne Memorial Park cemetery. The media attention Wilson received spurred changes to how state institutions treated deaf patients and how eugenics had affected thousands of residents. One of Wilson's bicycles was included in a display at the National Museum of American History to mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Early life Childhood and schooling
Junius Wilson was born on October 8, 1908, in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, a small community near Wilmington. Castle Hayne was a predominantly black community at the time, and most houses had dirt floors, no electricity, and no running water. Sidney and Mary Wilson were residents of Castle Hayne and the couple had four children: daughter Asynia (b 1905), one that died as an infant, son Junius, and daughter Carrie (b. 1911). Mary was a housewife and Sidney worked as a woodcutter for a railroad company. Arthur Smith Sr., who worked with Sidney, and his wife Annie lived nearby. The Smiths had four children, including Arthur Smith Jr., and the two families frequently spent time with each other. They raised their families in an area deeply affected by racism, including Jim Crow laws and the Wilmington massacre.
It is unclear when Wilson lost his hearing, but it was possibly at a very young age after contracting scarlet fever. His parents were unable to communicate with him, possibly leading to his parents becoming frustrated. Sidney and Mary's relationship suffered and Sidney left the family, moving to Georgia where he later remarried. As a single mother, Mary needed support and she relied on the Smiths for assistance. Arthur Jr. was a young adult at the time and contributed financially to Mary and her children.
The residential and state-funded North Carolina School for the Colored Blind and Deaf (NCSCBD) in Raleigh was the first segregated school in the U.S. for deaf black children when it was founded in 1868. Beginning in 1907, the state government mandated all deaf children attend school. In January 1916 Wilson was sent to the NCSCBD to receive academic and vocational training. The hope was Wilson would one day be able to live independently and support himself since he was unable to contribute to his family's financial situation.
For most of Wilson's time at the NCSCBD, the superintendent was Gustavus Ernest Lineberry, who was not proficient in American Sign Language (ASL). Lineberry did not want students to be taught by deaf teachers and most of the faculty he did hire did not know ASL. He also limited the use of ASL in classrooms. Lineberry did not believe black students needed a formal education, so he emphasized vocational training including dairy farming and carpentry. Because students were not exposed to ASL education, they improvised their own version of sign language called Raleigh Sign Language (also referred to as "Raleigh signs"), a form of Black American Sign Language that someone fluent in ASL would not be able to understand. The students were unaware of sign language dialects as they were kept separate from black deaf communities and white deaf students who were taught ASL.
While attending the NCSCBD, Wilson was finally able to communicate with others via sign language, though he remained mostly illiterate. He was given a sign name, the initial "J" on the middle of his chest. Wilson communicated not only through Raleigh signs, but also by waving his arms, touching someone's arm or shoulder to get their attention, and yelling at students who were hard of hearing (HoH) but not deaf. Wilson continued attending the NCSCBD until 1924. That year during the school's fall field trip to the Negro State Fair, Wilson did not join his classmates when they returned to school. He stayed for two nights at the fairgrounds, possibly to enjoy the nightly fireworks or to experience a sense of freedom. After Wilson returned to the NCSCBD, he was expelled, ending his ties to a black deaf community.
Return home and arrest
When Wilson returned home to Castle Hayne, he continued to live with his mother and stepfather, along with his younger sister, Carrie. His older sister, Asynia, had moved away during his time in Raleigh. Arthur Jr. had married Lizzie Sidberry while he was away, and the Smiths and Wilsons continued to have a strong relationship. Mary and Lizzie bonded while maintaining their respective households. Henry, Wilson's stepfather, died in February 1925. Mary once again relied on the Smiths for support since Wilson was unable to assist her financially. Arthur Jr. and Lizzie were not close with Wilson since he had been attending school in Raleigh for many years. Arthur Jr. saw Wilson as a burden since the state no longer paid for his housing and education. Unable to communicate with him, most people in the community avoided contact with Wilson and his isolation worsened. He would often become frustrated and his way of communicating by touching someone, yelling, or stomping his feet was perceived as threatening. Wilson's family was worried these actions might endanger them if he offended white people.
Wilson assumed he was also welcomed into the Smith family like his mother and sister, but Arthur Jr. and Lizzie felt uncomfortable with his presence. Wilson's attempt at reading Lizzie's lips were viewed as a threat. In August 1925 Arthur Jr. contacted police and made an apparent false report that Wilson had assaulted and attempted to rape Lizzie. If Arthur Jr. had accused Wilson of attempting to rape a white woman, it might have resulted in a mob lynching, but since a black woman was the alleged victim, the punishment would be less severe. While gathering sticks in the woods, Wilson was arrested and taken to the New Hanover County jail.
He remained at the jail until November 1925. No one told the police Wilson was deaf, but an employee at the jail apparently realized this and attempted to communicate with him with limited ASL. Since Wilson did not know ASL and tried to communicate by speaking with his deaf voice, the employee assumed Wilson was insane. A lunacy hearing took place that month with the jury composed of white hearing men. Wilson did not have an attorney. A physician examined Wilson and declared him insane and violent. The judge overseeing the hearing said "The mental condition of the defendant is such as to render him dangerous to himself and to other persons, and that his confinement for cure, treatment, and security demands that he be committed to the hospital to be kept in custody therein for treatment and care." Wilson was sent by train to the State Hospital for the Colored Insane (SHCI), now known as Cherry Hospital, in Goldsboro.
Incarceration Criminal ward and castration
Seventeen-year-old Wilson arrived at the SHCI on November 21, 1925, and placed in the criminal ward as patient #8229. In a logbook his occupation was listed as "criminal" and his diagnosis as "constitutional psychopathic inferiority". The hospital had over 1,000 beds when Wilson arrived and much of the property was in poor condition. His building, CI (Criminally Insane), was surrounded by barbed wire and had metal bars on its windows. Patients would go outside in an enclosed area but otherwise sat on benches that lined the ward's hallway. The ward was reportedly dark, musty, and lacked sufficient toilets. Outbreaks of various illnesses spread rapidly among patients, some of whom were locked in cages for long periods. Wilson remained in this ward for more than six years.
During this time, Wilson's mother struggled financially and moved in with Annie Smith after her husband Arthur Sr. died. The two women looked after Annie's children and later grandchildren. Mary reportedly avoided Arthur Jr. and grieved quietly for her son, not believing the charges brought against him. Because she relied on the Smith family to survive, she was reluctant to visit Wilson and could not write to him as she was illiterate. For many years family members reportedly never spoke about Wilson and did not attempt to contact or visit him.