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Annika Kuretsky & Loren Givens A protester holding a "Believe Black Women" sign stands at the pedestal that previously hosted a statue of "father of gynecology" J. Marion Sims in Central Park, New York. Photo by Spencer Platt Tennis star Serena Williams made the news in 2018 for an unusual reason: following the birth of her daughter, Williams developed a life-threatening blood clot, and had to beg her medical practitioners to conduct the tests that ultimately saved her life. While Williams recovered, her experience was not unique. Black women in the United States do not receive the same quality or outcomes of care that their white counterparts do—in fact, black women are two to three times more likely to experience maternal mortality than white women. This disparity is the legacy…

Grace Makselan & Kole Grossnickle There is a profound history of racialized medicalization in the United States. Although there are many examples of this, this podcast focuses on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and how it has affected the black community in the United States. This study is a major proponent in perpetuating distrust amongst marginalized peoples with medical institutions and government agencies. Further Reading Brandt, Allan M. “Racism and Research: The Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” The Hastings Center Report, vol. 8, no. 6, 1978, pp. 21–29 Freimuth, V. S., Quinn, S. C., Thomas, S. B., Cole, G., Zook, E., & Duncan, T. (2001). "African Americans’ views on research and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study". Social Science & Medicine, 52(5), 797–808. Gilmore-Bykovskyi, A., Jackson, J. D., & Wilkins, C. H. (2021). "The…

Olivia Balakos and Cristian Hudson Photo: Participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The year is 1932. Scientists are trying to understand the impacts of untreated syphilis in Black men. Through unethical practices, they began experimenting on human bodies. And so began a 40-year study that would ultimately end in the termination of the study without any significant results. The victims of this study were left untreated, forcing them to suffer through the symptoms as well as impacting the families. This study was named the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. References about the USPHS syphilis study. (n.d.). Tuskegee University. https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/centers-of-excellence/bioethics-center/about-the-usphs-syphilis-study Hill, A. (2018, April 18). Henrietta Lacks, the Tuskegee Experiment, and Ethical Data Collection: Crash Course Statistics #12. YouTube. https://youtu.be/CzNANZnoiRs Momplaisir, F., Haynes, N., Nkwihoreze, H., Nelson, M., Werner, R. M., & Jemmott,…