In the final chapters of Dying in The City of Blues, keith Wailoo discusses the increased attention and awareness that Sickle Cell Anemia had developed throughout the 1970s. Further, he delves into the drug addiction issue that intensified with the rise of medicinal treatments for diseases such as SCA.
President Richard Nixon first introduced the worsening issue with SCA into politics. Following this, athletes, actors, and other famous icons began using their popularity to spread the awareness of African-American suffering. The Black Panthers as well, introduced SCA workshops as a symbol of Black self-reliance and strength. Attention grew for SCA and funds were released for the research needed to find a treatment or cure. However, while there were treatments and counseling, many Black Americans saw this as an effort of population control. They were informed of the chances of having a child with SCA if both parents were carriers, and they believed that such was a way of convincing them not to reproduce. Nevertheless, a cure for SCA was produced, but it was an immense risk. Regardless, many African-Americans took this risk because of the unbearable pain and suffering that was associated with SCA. In addition to this suffering, Blacks were often accused of drug-seeking since the rise of attention for SCA. The pain was so immense, that those affected by SCA would turn to drugs for some relief and then would become addicted. However, it was often because of the pain associated with SCA that they would rather be drug-addicted than live with such an oppressing life due to this disease.
The attention that grew for SCA was mostly due to Black self-defense against the disease. Nonetheless, nearly all Black freedoms and accomplishments were in credit to themselves, rather than the government or other advocacies. I also would like to note that the drug craze that occurred during this search for SCA treatment, could relay into the upcoming crack-epidemic that my group is focusing on for our final project. The factors that led to such measures of addiction among Black Americans, could have been entirely due to their suffering as a race and the need for release of such pain. The stereotype that follows African-Americans being drug-addicts could be dated back to this time of suffrage, however it was often because they were victims of SCA, rather than the Black community being prone to drug addictions.
Good, but perhaps you could say more about how Nixon used SCA to co-opt a liberal/left agenda and undermine claims that the US government was indifferent to black suffering. In the end, do you think this was a successful effort?
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