The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments

Racism in American society has been deeply engrained into the cultural norms since colonialization. Racism has infiltrated every facet of our lives, including in the medical field. This medical racism was particularly portrayed by the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments, which occurred from 1932-1972. The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and its relationship with governmental organizations represent the idea that racism is deeply engrained in American society and the discontinuation of the study portrays the attempt to integrate African Americans into society. The Tuskegee syphilis experiments were performed on the campus of Tuskegee College in Alabama. The premise of the study was the view the impact of untreated syphilis in the African American population. This was due to the belief that syphilis behaves differently in the black male than in the white male. The doctors in the study withheld the fact that their patients had syphilis and did not disclose the fact that treatment was available, which led to the death of over 72% of the participants. The Tuskegee experiments were based off of ideas that fueled medical racism in America, by its portrayal of syphilis as a “different disease” in blacks. This idea was widely believes to be the truth regarding sexually transmitted diseases, and this deeply rooted belief was entirely racist. A physician noted in the OEC in 1941, “Syphilis in the negro is in many respects a different disease from syphilis in whites.” This conclusion that an infectious disease is so selective to be different in blacks is a directly correlation to the racism evident in the experiment and its reason for being in existence. Not only was racial profiling evident in the scientists’ conclusions about the behavior of an infectious disease, but also it was also evident in their reasoning behind this belief. A physician noted in the Journal of American Medicine, “The negro springs from a southern race, and as such his sexual appetite is strong; all of his environments stimulate this appetite, and as a general rule his emotional type of religion certainly does not decrease it.” This racially charged comment is a representation of a large percentage of the members of the study. Syphilis behaved differently in African Americans because African Americans were from a different planet, or as alien-like. Not only were the motives for the study evident of the deeply rooted racism engrained in American society, but also the treatment and choosing of the all black patients portray this ideation. The treatment of the black patients throughout the study led to the idea that Americans thought of African Americans as …show more content…
government and its effect on institutionalized racism. The job of the government in the role of a medical study is to review the study to make sure that it is ethically acceptable. While the study had merit before it started, which allowed it to gain governmental support, the U.S. Public Health Services had many opportunities to review and abolish the study, which they did not. “Despite the fact that their assumption regarding prevalence and black attitudes toward treatment had proved wrong, the USPHS decided to continue the study.” The department observed the fact that the study had failed, yet continued with the study anyway. This is a clear example of the racially charged decisions that the government made and the engrained racism within the American government. They had a chance to end this racist study, yet instead they put in their own racist views and let the study continue. However, despite the fact that the doctors’ and government’s view of the study was undeniably racist, once the public became involved and informed, the study came under …show more content…
It not only allowed for African Americans to recognize the racial tensions that existed in America, but it also allowed for the general public to gain an insight into the institutionalized racism in the country. Not only this, but it was a major factor in changing the way that all doctors look at disease, not by racial factors, but by method of transmission. This issue is still raised today with the creation of race-specific heart medication. While the syphilis experiments and there discovery brought light onto the racism that existed in American society, it did not eliminate the racial profiling still frightening evident in