Perez, The Eugenicist

When the movement for birth control began at the turn of the twentieth century, organizers such as Margaret Sanger believed that women's control of their own fertility would lead to upward social mobility for all women, regardless of race...

Under the Influence of eugenics, Sanger changed her approach, moving away from a race-neutral analysis...Sanger believed it was important to "prevent the American people from being replaced by alien or negro stock, whether it be by immigration or by overly high birth rates among others in this country."

Politicians in the southern states were particularly interested in spreading birth control among African-Americans to limit black population growth that threatened their political and economic hegemony. For example, the late Leander Perez of Louisiana, who supported birth control for African-Americans, once said, "The best way to hate a nigger is to hate him before he is born."

 Kramarae, Cheris, and Dale Spender. “Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women: Global Women's Issues and Knowledge.”