Linyah Lokesh
Research Mentor: Robert Mickey
Mentor Department: Political Science, LSA
Author(s): Robert Mickey, Linyah Lokesh
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 2
Abstract
This project examines how the Washtenaw County government contributed to racial discrimination against African American residents. While discussions of historical racism often focus on federal or state policies, this research centers on the county as an active decision-maker whose actions caused lasting harm. By focusing on local government records, the project highlights how racism was produced and enforced at the county level rather than imposed solely from above. The research is based on an archival analysis of official Washtenaw County documents, including administrative records and government proceedings. These materials are used to identify moments where county policies or actions directly disadvantaged African American residents and to trace the long-term effects of those decisions. Working with primary sources allows the project to ground its argument in documented institutional behavior. Specifically, this project focuses on the County Poor Farm on Platt Road as a case study of how local social welfare and public health policies enforced racial and socioeconomic hierarchies. The Poor House was established under the 1830 Michigan law that required each county to have a poor house; it confined individuals labeled as “insane,†disabled, sick, or simply impoverished, combining medical care with forced labor and social control. The residents were considered inmates and were subjected to social stigma and segregation. By focusing on archival county records and historical accounts, this research can trace how such practices shaped access to healthcare and reinforced racial and socioeconomic structures, particularly for Black residents and the poor, and how the county played a central role in producing long-term inequality.
