In the first part of the Immortal Lives of Henrietta Lacks, life, Rebecca Skloot expounded on the discovery and origin of HeLa cells and how Henrietta Lacks and her family were involved in this situation. Conversely, the second part of this book was called death, which is the complete opposite of life. After reading the second part, I believe that this segment of the book concentrates more on the aftermath of Henrietta Lacks’s death, and elaborate how the discoveries of HeLa cells after her death impacted the world and her family as a whole. Written in a similar fashion of part one of the book, part two not only focused on Henrietta Lacks’s family before and after her death, but it also expanded on the scientific breakthroughs and discoveries
In the 1950s the first ‘immortal’ human cells were grown from a cancerous tissue sample taken from Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman, without her knowledge or consent. She had died shortly after, at the unfortunately early age of 31, of a severe case of cervical cancer. Henrietta had a list of ailments that included neurosyphilis, gonorrhea, and HPV the leading cause of her cervical cancer and, ultimately, her death. The hospital that had diagnosed her cancer, Johns Hopkins, had supposedly been one of the best hospitals in the country, but it participated in discriminatory and amoral research practices when treating African Americans. Not only taking taking Henrietta’s cells without her consent, but injecting them and other cancer cells into patients without their knowledge.
The sterilization of Carrie Buck and the eugenics movement in the U.S. is an example of this relationship, as the eugenics movement and biological determinist thought permeated society. Carrie Buck was up against four powerful institutions, medicine, academia, law, and the judiciary, not to mention the gender and economic differences. While discussing the economy, Calavita explains a shift in business models that applies to Buck’s case. Calavita writes, “The charisma and credentials of the ‘grand old men’ who traditionally made up this transnational arbitration club continue to provide it with an aura of genteel legitimacy, but that its actual operation has been rendered highly technocratic and rational” (Calavita, 34). The ‘grand old men’ described can also be applied to the four, elite, professional institutions Buck was against during her case.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler is a woman that history knows little of other than her degree and the little she wrote about herself in the beginning of a book. What makes this woman so important to history, and so important to me, is that Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African-American woman to earn an M.D. degree in the United States, and one of the first African Americans to write a book of medical advice. Crumpler, born in Delaware in 1831, was raised by her aunt in Pennsylvania. Crumpler’s aunt was a woman who spent much of her time caring for sick neighbors and friends. In the beginning of her book, A Book of Medical Discourses, she explained that being surrounded by the work of her aunt is what made her form a liking to relieving the suffering of others, which is what pushed her to go into medicine.
In The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, author Rebecca Skloot uncovers the life of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells that have allowed some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in recent history. By studying the lives of Henrietta’s living relatives as well as tracing the medical history of Henrietta herself, Skloot is able to provide Henrietta Lack’s and her family with the recognition they deserve while helping her family come to terms with the mistreatment and injustice they have faced. Starting off with how she came to learn about Henrietta Lacks Skloot delves into Lack’s story. After learning that she has cervical cancer, Lacks is treated at John Hopkins, but unknowingly has her cells collected for study. Scientists discover
Henrietta Lacks was a black tobacco farmer from the south who, in 1950, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer. Lacks went to John’s Hopkins medical center for treatment for her cancer. In April of 1951, she underwent surgery to remove the larger tumor on her cervix. Henrietta Lacks, died three days following the surgery. Even though Henrietta Lacks died, her cells from the tumor have lived on and have made a major impact on the biomedical community.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.
Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.
Saint Katharine Drexel was born on November 28, 1858. Her father was a wealthy banker, and her family had a history of donating their fortunes. She was educated privately at home by tutors, and she traveled the United States with her family. She became interested in the struggles of African Americans and Native Americans after reading A Century of Dishonor, a book that describes Native American troubles, and after seeing the African Americans struggle during her travels. After her father’s and mother’s deaths, she wanted to use her inheritance to help others, based on her father’s philanthropy.
People were living even with such a painful and dark past. However, living does not entail forgetting. Parents and grandparents stories’ were inherited and passed down from generation to generation. Confused as to why there were no plaques or even a memorial to remember and honor the thousands of individuals who died, she asked an old Haitian cane worker why he thought that was. The cane worker was unsure why there were no plaques but he replied with the following: “the best way to commemorate the horrors of the past, is to stop the injustices of the present” (Danticat,
Bushra Pirzada Professor Swann Engh-302 October 4th 2015 Rhetorical Analysis: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks who has her cervical cancer. It further goes to tell the audience how Henrietta altered medicine unknowingly. Henrietta Lacks was initially diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951; however, the doctors at John Hopkins took sample tissues from her cervix without her permission. The sample tissues taken from Henrietta’s cervix were used to conduct scientific research as well as to develop vaccines in the suture.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot has so far been very interesting to me. Even though I do not read often, the first fourteen chapters of this book have really made me want to know more. Rebecca Skloot has actually won many awards for the writing of this book. In 2010 she won the Chicago Tribune Heartland prize for nonfiction, the 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Award for Excellence in Science Writing. The awards continued to come in 2011 when Rebecca Skloot won the 2011 Audie Award for best Non-Fiction Audiobook, and a Medical Journalists’ Association Open Book Award.
John C. Gardner once said “History never looks like history when you are living through it.” For the people who lived during the Juneteenth, Jim Crow South, and even slavery they may have never believe that their lives would be recognized on this trail. For many of them I’m sure it was no easy road, but today we honor their legacy with not only this trail but by preserving their legacy by teaching the youth about their triumphs and accomplishments during such a strenuous time for African American individuals. I began my journey through the African American Heritage trail with the Basilica of Immaculate Conception. The site itself was keeper of records for births, deaths, and origins of Spanish, African, and French ancestors.
From her sheltered beginnings in Eatonville, Florida it seemed that her obstacle was being free to be who she was unapologetically. The woman who had appeared on the cover of the Saturday Review and who during her lifetime had been the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Rosenwald Foundation Fellowship, two Guggenheims, and Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from Morgan State College, an Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award in Race Relations, the Howard University Distinguished Alumni Award, Bethune-Cookman College’s Award for Education and Human Relations, was buried in an unmarked grave at Fort Pierce’s segregated cemetery, the Garden of Heavenly Rest (King 11). Nearly forgotten, Hurston would not be properly honored and revered for her works and contributions until years after her death. Although, at the time of her death in 1960, Hurston has published more books than any other black woman in America (History.com). Leading a full life, her pain and struggles never filtered into her works.
Even though we know that the Negroes were not particularly accepted in the US at the time, the very lengths that people would go to for their beliefs is extremely disturbing. Finally the story comes to a close by describing the personal story of Eula Biss, who “Believed that he telephone itself was a miracle” as a child. All these stories are strung
