Race, Medicine, & Society Notes - April 26, 2018

Race, Medicine, & Society Notes - April 26, 2018

Discussion Questions:

1. What was the cultural context in which Sickle Cell became visible to Americans in the 1950s?
2. What were the cultural and scientifics changes that were happening in the 1950s that impacted the ways Americans thought about sickle cell? How does sickle cell shape larger debates?

Social visibility: Viewpoint of people, awareness of particular condition that is prevalent in society during the time (impact), Ex: Flu season, more women die from lung cancer but breast cancer is more well known

vs

Clinical visibility: Viewpoint of medical professionals, awareness by research

Pain is uncommunicatable

• Memphis Minnie used metaphor for pain

Cultural Conditions

Sickle Cell Anemia

What are the social conditions that are changing in 1940s-1960s that will change the way people think about Sickle Cell Anemia?

• African American veterans
• Segregated Blood

Disease Focuses: Malaria, Syphilis, Tuberculosis, -> Cardiac disease, Polio, Leukemia, Cancer

Cardiac disease gains popularity in 1950s

Polio killed a lot of children, nobody wanted their kids to go out (transition of disease), - Public health crisis solved with Polio vaccine

Throwing money into doing research would lead to cure/vaccination being invented

“Solve this problem before the Soviets do”

Studying Sickle Cell Anemia because a lot of funding would be poured into it

Why Memphis?

• 48% African American
• Results would be easily seen
• ‘Up and Coming’
• More popularity for Memphis if successful, Memphis as a modern, progressive city

Brown v Board of Education

• Issue about well-being children (psychological damage caused by segregation)
• Segregation within schools

Sickle Cell Anemia & Segregation of schools caused suffering of children, which would require government intervention (p108)

Ebony Article:

• Normal (middle class) African American family
• Children struck by Sickle Cell Anemia
• Family had to sell many possessions to afford medical bills
• Child suffering (external force shattered good lifestyle)