The government infected 600 Black men in Macon County, Alabama, with syphilis



That Black men were injected with syphilis in the Tuskegee experiment

The government infected 600 Black men in Macon County, Alabama, with syphilis

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment studied black men with advanced syphilis for 40 years. Patients were lied to and prevented from getting treatment. A black mark in the history of American medicine that led to important reforms.

Lest We Forget 

Tuskegee Study: Black males thought they were receiving free healthcare. The experiment was to see what effects syphilis would have without treatment.  They were injected with what they were led to believe was actual medication. 

This was conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service and happened over a period of 40 years between 1932 and 1972. Black men were experimented on to treat the disease with placebo penicillin and were offered free medical exams, free meals and burial insurance.

But they were not given the drug, and 28 of the original 399 Black men died of syphilis, 100 died of related complications, 40 of their wives were infected, and 19 of their children were born with congenital syphilis. That dark past remains a hurdle to clear.

LET US NEVER FORGET.

#thisisamerica 

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