Reverby Examining Tuskegee - Part 1 Response - Collin Winters

Throughout the mid-20th century, a Syphilis study was conducted around the area of Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study represents medical racism, government wrongdoing, and the arrogance of physicians. African Americans were used for experimentation purposes to learn more about the bacterium Treponema pallidum; which was the main cause of Syphilis. Syphilis appeared to carry more cultural baggage than other diseases because it is a disease that had plagued humanity for years, however solutions were starting to be discovered, such as Penicillin. Antibiotic use is the main treatment for Syphilis, but before antibiotics were available, African Americans endured harsh experimentation. The Veteran Administration released a statement saying: "We don't like to use the word 'experiments' in the Veterans Administration; 'investigations' or 'observations' ... is the approved term for such a study in the VA hospital." (Reverby 21) Treatment of Syphilis to communities involved: basic observations. blood samples, urine samples, and "20 injections [of the heavy metals] and 192 mercury rubs." The extent to which this treatment helped is questionable. Often times, African Americans were persuaded to join in the experimentation because the procedures were not clearly explained. No written consent was taken. Unwanted and painful techniques would follow; including spinal taps to look for any neurological complications.  African Americans were targeted for experimentation because of racism, the view of them possessing Bad Blood, and the belief that African Americans held a "sanitary sin."