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Why Is The Tuskegee Experiment Important

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The Tuskegee experiment in Alabama was not at all humane. The Tuskegee experiment took advantage of hundreds of poor African American men, and violated their rights as humans. The result of the Tuskegee experiment led to a lot of distrust of science and medicine among the African American population. The Tuskegee experiment took place in Macon County, Alabama where there was a great number poor sharecroppers ("The Deadly Deception"). The researchers were looking for somewhere that had poor, uneducated African American men, and Macon County was the perfect place. The Public Health Service wanted to conduct research that focused on how untreated syphilis affected the body, and they wanted to know if syphilis was the same in blacks as it was …show more content…

The subjects that survived the Tuskegee experiment did not find out what was really being done to them until forty years after the fact ("The Deadly Deception"). All of this deceit caused African Americans to not want to trust white doctors and it is hard not to agree with them. Deborah, Henrietta Lack’s daughter, was afraid that researchers were doing something harmful to her mother and that is why she died (Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [pg.186]). Deborah heard about the Tuskegee experiment and how supposedly the doctors were injecting the subjects with syphilis, and so Deborah was really paranoid about doctors and what they were really doing (Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks [pg186]). This sort of treatment and disregard for African Americans rights as humans leave them no other choice but to not trust science and medicine. The Tuskegee experiment was not the only research study that tricked African Americans into getting procedures which then led to more distrust of science and medicine. African American women thought they were getting their appendix removed but without their consent or knowledge had hysterectomies preformed on them for no other reason than for young doctors to practice doing the procedure leaving these women no longer able to have children (Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

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We are not seen as human enough to be consenting as well as told the truth about what they are doing to us. Black people have been subjected to many medical and social experiments throughout history. Some could even argue that the "projects" was just that, a project to see how we would could interact and live with one another. Not only this but I am currently reading a book entitled Blood sugar, which is about the pharmaceutical industry and the money it makes off of black citizens.

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Due to their little knowledge doctors and scientist had taken advantage of them. Africans Americans for them it seemed as if they were the new foreign exchange student in a classroom were everyone speaks a different language, (pg16) Skloot mentioned “For Henrietta, walking into Hopkins was like entering a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language. She knew about harvesting tobacco and butchering a pig, but she’d never heard the words such as cervix or biopsy……” Due to here education most African Americans only went to the hospital when it deemed necessary to them. They would go to the hospital with faith and trust that towards the doctors.

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The Tuskegee Airmen was the first colored air squadron in U.S. military history. Since they were colored they weren’t highly honored as the white pilots; but they accomplished more than others. It wasn’t easy for them along the way. Therefore, The Tuskegee Airmen like Benjamin O. Davis Jr. faced racial discrimination and the toughest pilot program in the military.

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Thomas Jefferson, though writing long before the civil war, endorsed a gradual emancipation and colonization of the slaves, rather than outright freedom, concerned with their ability to peacefully coexist with white Americans. One of the more progressive ideas came in the form of giving the former slaves land, wages, and freedom equal to that of any other free man. This, however, was not a popular plan among many of the people of the time, believing that African Americans are inherently inferior to white Americans. If this assumption was true, then obviously we couldn’t integrate them into society, as they wouldn’t work or contribute to society in a meaningful way. The Port Royal Experiment sought to prove the validity of this claim, one way or

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In Tuskegee, Alabama a group of men were chosen for an experiment involving the observation of how syphilis occurs in black men and its long term non-treated consequences. At the time of the experiment, the only treatment that was available was a heavy metal therapy; however, the scientists believed it was doing more harm than good. Therefore, they did not inform the men about the treatment and distracted them with basic incentives like hot meals and transportation. When penicillin, a cure for syphilis, was discovered the doctors made the decision to shield the cure away from the men. This is proof that scientists are

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Looking at the James Brown case, he withstood a massive amount of torture until he cracked and escaped. His doctor obviously did not consider Brown a human and wanted to hurt him for profit. Correspondingly, if one were to look at the differences between African patients and white patients, the difference is immense. Whites were treated how every patient gets treated in the modern day. They were legally bound to safe procedures and had a right to exit the experiment if they desired.

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Nature.com stated that the number of scientific output (or the number of scientific papers that researchers publish) double every nine years (Nature.com). This may not seem like a lot, but there are thousands upon thousands of researchers that are constantly producing new content. With the amount of research scientists are producing, it is necessary to remind scientists (and future scientists) that we cannot go back to the times when Henrietta was alive, nor should we repeat horrible studies such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, where 600 men were experimented on in exchange for burial insurance and food (CDC). The Tuskegee Study lasted for 40 years, and even after penicillin was discovered, the men were not given any treatment (CDC). Experiments just like this one could still happen today, but with books like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, people can see what happens to the people in the experiment.

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In the late 19th century, many African-Americans participated in the post-Civil War reform movements which geared towards the eradication of racism, the improvement of education and employment opportunities. Booker Taliaferro Washington stood out, strong and influential in an era when race relations amongst Caucasians and African-American’s were in anguish. Washington was an influential pragmatist that utilized ambiguity in order to maintain white recognition of his leadership. Washington’s experiences at Hampton University, cemented his belief that African American’s had a more realistic approach in their economic and educational standing through vocational learning. Washington created Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in order to mirror the principles

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But unfortunately, the experiment was also never clearly explained to them, they had thought it was just the best possible treatment expected to cure the sickness they might have had. Many unethical practices were evident in this study, in this case, the most important one was informed consent, which is a consent given by a patient to a doctor for treatment with full knowledge of the possible risks and benefits. None of the participants in the Tuskegee study

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The study would ultimately prove that everyone, no matter the color of their skin, is equal when it comes to the disease of syphilis. The intention behind manipulating the men was not for the greater good of society, but instead was for the greater good of Dr. Brodus and Miss Evers. Although the actions of Dr. Brodus and Miss Evers prove to be unethical, I also find the actions to be unprofessional. Miss Evers should have informed the men of the severity of the disease, as well as how the disease is passed from one individual to another. They failed to inform their patients of many of the risks that came along with the disease.

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This study was referred to as the “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis

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