RALEIGH, N.C. -- The woman who has led the North Carolina foundation that developed a plan to compensate victims of forced sterilization is stepping down.
Charmaine Fuller Cooper's last day as executive director of the North Carolina Justice for Sterilization Victims was Thursday. A spokeswoman says Cooper has accepted a job with the American Heart Association in Research Triangle Park.
A bill to compensate victims of forced sterilization with $50,000 each failed when the Senate didn't consider it. The foundation stopped taking new requests when it appeared operating funds would end, but the Legislature passed a bill directing the foundation to keep going with $128,000 from the Department of Administration.
Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina forcibly sterilized about 7,600 people. The foundation has confirmed more than 160 victims.