Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson

by Susan Burch, Hannah Joyner

Junius Wilson (1908-2001) spent seventy-six years at a state mental hospital in Goldsboro, North Carolina, including six in the criminal ward. He had never been declared insane by a medical professional or found guilty of any criminal charge. But he was deaf and black in the Jim Crow South. Unspeakable is the story of his life.Using legal records, institutional files, and extensive oral history interviews--some conducted in sign language--Susan Burch and Hannah Joyner piece together the story of a deaf man accused in 1925 of attempted rape, found insane at a lunacy hearing, committed to the criminal ward of the State Hospital for the Colored Insane, castrated, forced to labor for the institution, and held at the hospital for more than seven decades. Junius Wilson's life was shaped by some of the major developments of twentieth-century Jim Crow segregation, the civil rights movement, deinstitutionalization, the rise of professional social work, and the emergence of the deaf and disability rights movements. In addition to offering a bottom-up history of life in a segregated mental institution, Burch and Joyner's work also enriches the traditional interpretation of Jim Crow by highlighting the complicated intersections of race and disability as well as of community and language. This moving study expands the boundaries of what biography can and should be. There is much to learn and remember about Junius Wilson--and the countless others who have lived unspeakable histories.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Disability, Race, Biography Memoir, African American

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2007

About the author

Susan Burch is an associate professor of American Studies and the director of the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity at Middlebury College. Research and teaching subjects “at the margins” draws Burch’s attention, and particularly the historical impact of race, ethnicity, disability, gender, and material culture on lived experiences in America, Russia, and beyond.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[Rosamund · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tragic and shocking story of the combined impact of racism and ablism on one man. Beautifully written.

[Emily Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. It encompasses eastern NC history, racism/segregation, disability rights (covering both mental health/involuntary commitments and the treatment of deafness), aging, and so much more. Some parts felt very redundant (repeated language and cognitive assessments... all stating that he was of sound mind and could communicate), but then you realize that it's because all of the bureaucratic red tape that repeatedly put barriers into place for Junius. It was hard listening to the sections that discuss the level of isolations that he had for decades as a result of Cherry Hospital/the state's negligence.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had time privilege of meeting Susan Burch when she visited my University. Such a lovely woman. I enjoyed discussing the daunting task that she partook in by piecing together the life of Junius Wilson. As a hard of hearing/deaf individual, I can say we have come so far and still have a ways to go.

[Marcus Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking to say the least. It’s amazing to find meaning into why such persons must suffer through life as so.

Junius Wilson was born in 1908, came to adulthood during Jim Crow, was deaf, uneducated (as a result of his lack of hearing) and in 1925 was accused of rape then confined to 76 years (the rest of his life) to a mental institution. He was also castrated.

This book is relayed mostly through oral history, record keeping in that era was systematically destroyed, just think, lobotomies were coming into fruition as well as shock therapy. In perspective, Rosemary Kennedy from the Kennedys was confined to a mental institution and subjected to all kinds of tests. Imagine what this Black man endured…

So for 76 years, with limited communication, Junius suffered through segregation, forced labor and held at a hospital against his knowing.

All of this and he was never charged with a crime.

[Karlalikestoread · Rating 5 out of 5]

This biography offers a nuanced look at a complicated case of injustice. It is the story of Junius Wilson, a deaf black man, who was unjustly institutionalized for most of his life. The story contextualizes the many circumstances and discriminations that allowed for Wilson’s castration and continued institutionalization. It also chronicles the many progressive laws and activism efforts that slowly changed attitudes towards and the treatment of deaf, disabled, and institutionalized people that eventually led to the many legal measures that finally granted Wilson more rights and freedom, albeit devastatingly late in his life.

[Karena Melby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for class and the story is interesting, but the writing style loses me. Junius Wilson was a Black Deaf man in the Jim Crow south wrongfully kept in a mental institution for most of his life- close to 80 years I believe. Communication access and intersectionality were huge points while no one in the institution could communicate with him through sign language and he lost most of his knowledge of language. The treatment he endures is mind blowing to read about Ok I feel like I’m writing a discussion post now but overall I thought it was a very powerful story!

[dana brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIO BOOK. I highly recommend. The life of Junius is beyond comprehension. He was a man failed by everybody and brutalized by many. This is a history of mental illness, institutionalization, racism, North Carolina, and our country. I learned so many things and the most amazing is that the seventy years of wrongs done to Junius were only addressed when the Cherry Hospital and NC was forced when Junius was in his 90’s. Too little too late. Unbelievable.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful book to discuss issues of race, poverty, and disability in early 20C South. So glad Susan Burch and Hannah Joyner wrote this. Surprised (and slightly pleased) that it is already dated. That is, Junius Wilson is still mostly treated as a subject and victim rather than a full person- and I'm pleased that in 17 years since the book was written this feels like it was written awhile ago, and books today would not give Junius the same treatment.

Good book for a history class.

[Stephanie Molnar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, well written, and engaging. My only of the process of the 1990s (not the book) was did anyone ask Wilson what he wanted? Besides signing HOME and them not being about to figure out what he meant, did anyone ask Wilson if he wanted lawsuits brought in his name, ask if he was happy? I certainly hope he was...at the end, at least.

[Manisha]

Listened to the audiobook.

DNF @ 8%

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense for 216 pages but a very important story to tell.

[Jada W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unspeakable the Story of Junius Wilson by Susan Burch and Hannah Joyner is about Junius Wilson who was born in 1908 into a family that was poor and African American. At this time blacks were fighting hard for equality and against segregation. On top of all the discrimination for race and wealth class, Wilson had to deal with being born deaf as well. This memoir is based off the struggles Wilson endured for being different from the ‘normal society’.
In Junius’ early years, he was entered into North Carolina School for the Colored Blind and Deaf in Raleigh (Susan, 3). Entering him into the deaf community closed him out to ways in communicating with hearing people. When Wilson returns home, he is so distraught on the way the hearing community it. Even though he is back with his family, he doesn’t feel like he’s a part of it. Even if he did want to be a part of his family, the sign language was taught differently depended on where you stayed. Wilson learned Raleigh signs, not the signs that could be used commonly anywhere. Though it was said that he did not learn much from his school time. Because of his detachment from hearing communities, Wilson was misunderstood, and he misunderstood others, quite frequently. As a result of a misunderstanding, Wilson was falsely accused of raping a relative.
Wilson was not able to communicate properly in the trial so the judge admitted him into a hospital for African Americans who have disabilities called Cherry Hospital. Even until this day, there is no known evidence proving that Wilson really raped someone. It is said that his uncle just misunderstood the look that Junius was giving his aunt. When Wilson was put into prison, the guards were told to treat him very well. It was as if his uncle was ensuring that he was as comfortable as possible.
This book, in my opinion, is a clear example of how society is towards people who are different. People see others who are different as a threat to them so they try to distance themselves from them. Unspeakable has the ability to show people that just because someone is different, that doesn’t mean you should take advantage of them. Being different can allow great things to happen. Reading this book can give readers a different view on life and a new way to look at people who are not the same as them.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susan Burch is a professor of American Studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. Hannah Joyner is an independent historian of the United States. Burch and Joyner wrote Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson. The monograph is a biography of an African American Man named Julius Wilson, who was deaf and who spent most of his life in a mental health institution in North Carolina. Burch and Joyner write about the difficulty of writing about someone who spent their life in a mental institution (Burch & Joyner 3, 7). Burch and Joyner writes “the patient’s record of Julius Wilson relieved the story of a deaf man accused in 1925 of the attempted rape of a relative, found insane at a lunacy hearing, committed to criminal ward of the State Hospital for the Colored Insane, and surgically castrated. Sixty-five years later, Wilson was still an inmate of the same hospital. In 1990, John Wasson of North Carolina’s New Hanover County Department of Social Services was appointed guardian of Junius Wilson. Wilson at a mental institution in the town of Goldsboro” (Burch & Joyner 1). “Wasson was shocked when he discovered, after reading the file and talking to staff, that Junius Wilson was not insane “(Burch & Joyner 1). The book uses the life of Junius Wilson to explore many different topics based on his life. The book has a section of notes. The book has a selected bibliography (Burch & Joyner 271-294). The book has an index and illustrations. I read the book on my Kindle. I found the Unspeakable: The Story of Julius Wilson a well-written monograph.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a difficult book for me to finish. I honestly do not know if I'd recommend this book to another POC & Deaf person. Especially Black Deaf. What happened to Wilson was a travesty. And how they tried to justify salvaging the remaining years of his life didn't sit right with me. I'm not one to indicate I would have done certain things differently. Because I do not know what I'd do. However I'm a believer that when your guts tell you something is wrong and you cannot pinpoint as to how it is such, it means something significant.

Personally I like history. It was my favorite subject in middle and high school. I appreciate learning historical things. It helps me to think about the life we live today and how it was different in the past. It makes me mindful of the privileged I have and process the oppressions I experience today. This book, the historical elements, did not appeal to me. I would have stopped reading but what kept me going was the hope Wilson's life would be redeemed.

Unfortunately what the book reminded me was how unjust this country is. Against marginalized groups.

[Bay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable - one of the saddest things I've ever read - this man was failed by so many groups of people - deemed feeble-minded because he was deaf (and apparently no one in his trial (against a trumped up charge) could tell he could not hear? None of the officers? The judge? The lawyers?) he was incarcerated at a mental hospital for seventy years - with no one who could sign.

He was also castrated in an attempt to prevent him from siring any feeble-minded children - just so unbelievable.

Finally "released" to a cottage on the hospital grounds in the 1990's when in his eighties, Wilson was failed by everyone from his family to his doctors to the hospital...and the saddest part is that this is one story we know about - hard to imagine how many more patients suffered like this.

[Shant34 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I started learning American Sign Language, I've wanted to learn more about Black Deaf culture. This story (one of many stories about Black deaf men in the South) provided a lot of insight into the plight of Black people in America. Unspeakable is absolutely right - there are no words to express the outrage at the treatment of this man throughout his life.
But I'm glad someone decided to speak. The editor took great care in how she presented the facts on Junius Wilson's life and the context in which he lived. I'm grateful that this story was published.

[Jacqueline115 · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow....this book made me cry and i rarely cry over books. i was also angry. It is beyond comprehension how much this man suffered due to his stupid family and ignorant people due to being black and deaf in the 1920's. Thank you Susan Burch for writing Junius' story, it will forever be etched in my memory.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is apt. Junius Wilson was forcibly castrated and incarcerated in a mental hospital for seventy-six years because he was poor, deaf, African American, and he could only communicate with a small number of people who knew Black/Raleigh sign language. A soul-shattering, well-researched and highly readable work.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreaking story of a black, deaf man falsely accused of rape who is castrated and spends over 70 years in a NC mental hospital

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me cry. It was such a sad story.

[Kati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, but powerful.

[Rachel Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, this was a book I had to put down over and over because I couldn't stop crying. Powerful lessons to be learned

[Kati Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking, but powerful.

[jon]

our ASL teacher gave us some articles on this case...

[Mills College Library]

Biog W7497b 2007