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Henrietta Lacks Research Paper

657 Words3 Pages

Imagine getting a different treatment from a hospital just because of the color of your skin. This is exactly what Henrietta Lacks, a black woman, had to go through all her life. Not only this, but Henrietta also got robbed. She was robbed of her spirit, her life, her soul, and her cells. In the biography “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (2/2/2010) written by Rebecca Skloot, a very important theme in the book was racism. Rebecca Skloot runs through the life of not only a black woman, but also the life of a white woman in a black world. Henrietta was not able to live her life to the fullest and greatest. Henrietta states that she was scared to go to ANY hospital. She was scared that they wouldn’t take her in; scared that she wouldn’t get …show more content…

Henrietta’s family passed away from neglect. For example, it is stated in the book “In 1955, the year Elsie died, the population of Crownsville was at a record high of more than 2,700 patients, nearly eight hundred above maximum capacity” (Skloot, 275). Crownsville was the hospital that Henrietta’s first daughter, Elsie, was admitted to. Another piece of evidence to support my argument is “The photo was attached to the top corner of Elsie’s autopsy report, which Lurz and I began reading, saying occasional phrases out loud ‘diagnosis of idiocy’...” (Skloot, 273). This poor girl did not get a proper diagnosis, just because of her race. Hospitals in the 1900s thought it was perfectly fine to test on black patients. Doctors and scientists looked down on people with darker skin tones. For instance, “Since at least the 1800s, black oral history has been filled with tales of ‘night doctors’ who kidnapped black people for research” (Skloot, 165). A man once claimed that he had to file a lawsuit in order to stop doctors from testing on him. He was frightened, feeling like no one would believe him or help …show more content…

Henrietta, the start of it all, she was stolen. People continue to argue that Henrietta was only scammed and tormented because of her cell phone. But that just isn’t the case. Henrietta was obviously used because of how low she was on the economic scale, because doctors thought her opinion didn’t really matter. Page 250 of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” states “Everybody always yellin, ‘Racism! Racism. That white man stole that black woman’s cell! That white man killed that black woman!’”. This is a completely accurate fact. The head of Johns Hopkins Hospital, George Gey, took her cells and sold them. He killed her, and kept her soul. Patients are lost in the thought of getting help. In reality, what if this help is actually a form of affliction? A huge problem that everyone has is that they constantly let people take advantage of them. Henrietta’s cells saved lives, they continue to do so. Henrietta’s cells have created a giant vaccine for the public. Henriette’s story will always be remembered. I will always remember how many lives were lost, because they were black. Racism is horrible, it still can

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In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, the author demonstrates the harsh realities that many African Americans faced in the medical and scientific field during the mid 20th century. The author shows the unjust practices of this time period through interviews with the Lacks family and medical professionals. These harsh realities are proven when Skloot talks to Henrietta’s family. Henrietta’s husband, Day, explains how they took samples from Henrietta’s body without consent when Skloot writes, “Day clenched his remaining three teeth. "I didn't sign no papers," he said.

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Henrietta Lacks Timeline 1920’s August 5 1920-Henrietta Lacks is born in Roanoke, Virginia with the name Loretta Pleasant 1924-Henrietta’s mother Eliza Lacks Pleasant dies giving birth Henrietta went to go live with her grandfather, Tommy Lacks and her cousins Joe and Day on a tobacco farm 1930’s 1934-Henrietta becomes pregnant with her cousin Day’s child Lawrence and later a daughter Elsie who was mentally challenged 1940’s 1940 -Fred buys a bus ticket to travel up north to join his other cousins working at a steel mill outside of baltimore called turner station April 20 1941-Henrietta and Day get married December 1941-Japan bombs pearl Harbor which bring more demand from Turner Station Henrietta cousin Fred returns successfully from

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