Race, Madness & the Complex History of a Jim Crow Asylum
What can the history of a Jim Crow–era mental asylum teach us about race and mental health today? MSNBC journalist Antonia Hylton joins Gabe Howard to discuss her powerful book “Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum,” a deeply researched look at Crownsville Hospital, once known as The Hospital for the Negro Insane.
Antonia reveals how Black patients were forced to build their own hospital, how racism shaped their psychiatric care, and how hope slowly emerged amid cruelty and neglect. But this isn’t a simple story of heroes and villains. As Antonia emphasizes, Black people aren’t…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.