#medical apartheid

[afriblaq]

Anarcha Westcott was a young Black girl enslaved in Alabama. After a traumatic childbirth, she developed vaginal and rectal fistulas, a condition that left her in constant pain and shame.

Instead of receiving care, she was experimented on over 30 times by Dr. J. Marion Sims, who operated on her without anesthesia. He used her body to develop a surgery that would later be used to treat white women, with pain relief, dignity, and consent.

Anarcha didn’t agree to any of it. She wasn’t a patient. She was a victim of medical violence.

Today, she is finally being remembered, not as a statistic, but as one of the true Mothers of Modern Gynecology, alongside Lucy and Betsey.

[longliveblackness]

Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey: The Mothers of Gynecology

Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey were enslaved women from plantations in and around Montgomery, Alabama. With neither consent nor anesthesia, they were experimented upon by Dr. J. Marion Sims in the 1840s. After publishing the results of his “success,” Sims moved to New York to seek fame and fortune.

Within a decade, he became known as the Father of Gynecology.

By contrast, Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey fell into history. They changed the world, only to beforgotten by it.

All three women developed a painful medical condition after childbirth that caused them to lose control of their bladders and bowels. Enslaved women with this condition were kept apart from other workers. There was no cure. Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy were told they would have to live with the pain and shame of their injuries for the rest of their lives.

The men who enslaved Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy were frustrated with their condition. They wanted to find a cure, not because they cared deeply about the enslaved women, but because the women could no longer do the hard labor that would earn money for their enslavers. In 1844, all three enslavers sought the advice of doctor J. Marion Sims.

Like many doctors in the 1800s, J. Marion Sims was very interested in medical advancement and experimentation. He practiced all kinds of medicine, from dentistry to pediatrics to general surgery. In 1835, he moved from South Carolina to Alabama after two of his patients died. Eventually, he settled in Montgomery County, where he came to the attention of the men who enslaved Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy.

Sims had recently discovered a new way to position surgical patients. He believed he might be able to cure Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy within six months. He made arrangements with their enslavers to lease the women for the duration of their treatment, so he had complete control over their bodies. It is unlikely that Anarcha, Betsey, or Lucy ever had the opportunity to consent to the experimentation they were about to endure.

Lucy was the first of the three women to undergo Sims’s experimental operation. The operating room was packed with doctors who wanted to watch the procedure. She was not asked whether she was comfortable with strange men watching her operation. Lucy was brought to the operating room naked and restrained on the table so her involuntary movements during surgery would not disrupt the procedure. Sims did not use anesthesia to numb her pain. This was partly because doctors feared patients could die from anesthesia and partly because it was commonly believed that black women did not experience pain the same way white women did. Lucy’s surgery took about an hour, and she was conscious for every minute of it.

After the surgery, Lucy developed a terrible infection from a device Sims had placed in her bladder. She experienced days of extreme agony. Sims was able to cure her infection, but her injury did not heal. The operation was a failure.

Betsey was the next person to undergo Sims’s operation. Like Lucy, Betsy was naked on the operating table and not given any anesthesia. This time, Sims used a device he invented for her bladder, and Betsey did not experience the same post-surgical infection that Lucy suffered. But Betsey’s injury was not repaired and this operation was also considered a failure. Anarcha was operated on last, with the same results.

When the results of Anarcha’s surgery became widely known, the local medical community decided that Sims was a failure and stopped supporting his experiments. Anarcha, Betsy, and Lucy were left in Sims’s control, because without a cure, they were considered useless to their enslavers. They worked for the Sims family in the periods between their procedures and recovery.

Sims decided to carry on with his experiments even though all of his white male assistants quit. He trained Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy to be his assistants during operations and taught them how to care for each other during their recoveries. Separated from their families and communities, with medical conditions that made them social outcasts, the women had no choice but to continue cooperating with Sims. In time, they became skilled medical practitioners in their own right.

Sims experimented on Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy for the next five years. He also brought in other enslaved women to experiment on. He had no shortage of patients because enslaved women did not receive proper care during pregnancy. Sims bought one patient because her case was unique, and her enslaver was not willing to risk his investment on an experimental surgery. Sims practiced his procedure on a total of 12 women, but only Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy were named in his published reports.

In the summer of 1849, Sims performed Anarcha’s 30th operation. He used all of the new tools and techniques he had developed over the last four years. This time, Anarcha’s injury finally healed and she made a full recovery. Shortly after perfecting his technique, Sims closed his hospital and moved north. Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy all returned to their enslavers after five years of absence and experimentation.

In 1852, Sims published an article that outlined his new procedure. To appeal to a wider audience, he never mentioned that the women he operated on were enslaved or that he had total control over their bodies. He also never mentioned that the enslaved women became skilled medical practitioners. In the illustrations that accompanied his article, he is shown operating on white women with the help of a white nurse. The patient is also covered, a token of respect that Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy never received.

Sims’s work and article revolutionized surgical treatments for women and earned him the nickname “the father of modern gynecology.” But it must be acknowledged that these advancements were made through the exploitation of enslaved women’s bodies. Some historians have argued that Sims’s patients became enthusiastic participants in his experiments, but it is important to remember that they had no choice. Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy, and all of the unnamed patients of J. Marion Sims deserve to be remembered as the mothers of modern gynecology, because without their labor and pain, Sims’s critical achievement would not have been possible.

•••

Anarcha, Lucy, Betsey: Las Madres de la Ginecología

Anarcha, Lucy y Betsey eran mujeres esclavizadas procedentes de plantaciones de Montgomery (Alabama) y sus alrededores. Sin consentimiento ni anestesia, el Dr. J. Marion Sims experimentó con ellas en la década de 1840. Tras publicar los resultados de su «éxito», Sims se trasladó a Nueva York en busca de fama y fortuna.

En una década, se le conoció como el Padre de la Ginecología.

En cambio, Anarcha, Lucy y Betsey pasaron a la historia. Cambiaron el mundo, sólo para ser olvidadas por él.

Las tres mujeres desarrollaron una dolorosa enfermedad después de dar a luz. Les hizo perder el control de la vejiga y los intestinos. A las mujeres esclavizadas con esta enfermedad se las mantenía separadas de los demás trabajadores. No había cura. A Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy les dijeron que tendrían que vivir con el dolor y la vergüenza de sus lesiones el resto de sus vidas.

Los hombres que esclavizaron a Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy se sentían frustrados por su situación. Querían encontrar una cura, no porque se preocuparan profundamente por las mujeres esclavizadas, sino porque las mujeres ya no podían hacer el trabajo duro que ganaría dinero para sus esclavizadores. En 1844, los tres esclavistas buscaron el consejo del doctor J. Marion Sims.

Como muchos médicos del siglo XIX, J. Marion Sims estaba muy interesado en los avances y experimentos médicos. Practicó todo tipo de medicina, desde odontología hasta pediatría y cirugía general. En 1835, se trasladó de Carolina del Sur a Alabama tras la muerte de dos de sus pacientes. Finalmente, se estableció en el condado de Montgomery, donde llamó la atención de los hombres que esclavizaron a Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy.

Sims había descubierto recientemente una nueva forma de colocar a los pacientes quirúrgicos. Creía que podría curar a Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy en seis meses. Llegó a un acuerdo con sus esclavizadores para arrendar a las mujeres mientras durara su tratamiento, de modo que tenía un control total sobre sus cuerpos. Es poco probable que Anarcha, Betsey o Lucy tuvieran la oportunidad de dar su consentimiento a los experimentos que estaban a punto de sufrir.

Lucy fue la primera de las tres mujeres en someterse a la operación experimental de Sims. El quirófano estaba abarrotado de médicos que querían ver la intervención. No le preguntaron si se sentía cómoda con hombres extraños observando su operación. A Lucy la llevaron desnuda al quirófano y la sujetaron en la mesa para que sus movimientos involuntarios durante la operación no interrumpieran el procedimiento. Sims no utilizó anestesia para calmar el dolor. Esto se debía en parte a que los médicos temían que los pacientes murieran a causa de la anestesia y en parte a que se creía que las mujeres negras no experimentaban el dolor del mismo modo que las mujeres blancas. La operación de Lucy duró aproximadamente una hora, y estuvo consciente durante cada minuto.

Tras la operación, Lucy desarrolló una terrible infección a causa de un dispositivo que Sims le había colocado en la vejiga. Pasó días de extrema agonía. Sims consiguió curar la infección, pero la herida no sanó. La operación fue un fracaso.

Betsey fue la siguiente en someterse a la operación de Sims. Al igual que Lucy, Betsey estaba desnuda en la mesa de operaciones y no recibió anestesia. En esta ocasión, Sims utilizó un dispositivo inventado por él para su vejiga y Betsey no sufrió la misma infección postoperatoria que Lucy. Pero la lesión de Betsey no se reparó y esta operación también se consideró un fracaso. Anarcha fue operada por último, con los mismos resultados.

Cuando se dieron a conocer los resultados de la operación de Anarcha, la comunidad médica local decidió que Sims era un fracaso y dejaron de apoyar sus experimentos. Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy quedaron bajo el control de Sims, ya que sin una cura se consideraban inútiles para sus esclavizadores. Trabajaron para la familia Sims en los periodos entre sus intervenciones y recuperaciones.

Sims decidió continuar con sus experimentos a pesar de que todos sus ayudantes varones blancos renunciaron. Entrenó a Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy para que fueran sus ayudantes durante las operaciones y les enseñó a cuidarse mutuamente durante sus recuperaciones. Separadas de sus familias y comunidades, con problemas médicos que las convertían en marginadas sociales, las mujeres no tuvieron más remedio que seguir cooperando con Sims. Con el tiempo, se convirtieron en expertas médicas por derecho propio.

Sims experimentó con Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy durante los siguientes cinco años. También trajo a otras mujeres esclavizadas para experimentar con ellas. No le faltaban pacientes porque las mujeres esclavizadas nunca recibían los cuidados adecuados durante el embarazo. Sims compró a una paciente porque su caso era único y su esclavizador no estaba dispuesto a arriesgar su inversión en una cirugía experimental. Sims practicó sus procedimientos en un total de 12 mujeres, pero sólo Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy fueron nombradas en sus informes publicados.

En el verano de 1849, Sims realizó la trigésima operación de Anarcha. Utilizó todas las nuevas herramientas y técnicas que había desarrollado en los últimos cuatro años. Esta vez, la lesión de Anarcha sanó por fin y se recuperó por completo. Poco después de perfeccionar su técnica, Sims cerró su hospital y se trasladó al norte. Anarcha, Betsey y Lucy regresaron a sus esclavizadores tras cinco años de ausencia y experimentación.

En 1852, Sims publicó un artículo en el que describía su nuevo procedimiento. Para atraer a un público más amplio, nunca mencionó que las mujeres a las que operaba eran esclavas ni que tenía un control total sobre sus cuerpos. Tampoco mencionó que las mujeres esclavizadas se convertieron en expertas médicas. En las ilustraciones que acompañan a su artículo, aparece operando a mujeres blancas con la ayuda de una enfermera blanca. La paciente también está cubierta, una muestra de respeto que Anarcha, Betsy y Lucy nunca recibieron.

El trabajo y el artículo de Sims revolucionaron los tratamientos quirúrgicos para las mujeres y eso le ganó el apodo de «padre de la ginecología moderna». Pero hay que reconocer que estos avances se lograron mediante la explotación de los cuerpos de mujeres esclavizadas. Algunos historiadores han argumentado que las pacientes de Sims se convirtieron en entusiastas participantes en sus experimentos, pero es importante recordar que no tenían elección. Anarcha, Betsey, Lucy y todas las pacientes anónimas de J. Marion Sims merecen ser recordadas como las madres de la ginecología moderna, porque sin su trabajo y su dolor, el logro crítico de Sims no habría sido posible.

[veluigi]

^Really important insider interview about how the fires are affecting marginalized communities in LA right now.

Some highlights: LA overfunds police multiple times over their Fire Dept to which they had cut funding. A sizeable number of Altadena residents never saw any firefighters or trucks responding. Altadena has lost a majority of its Historically Black community & infrastructure. BIPOC who are disproportionately affected by asthma need access to inhalers, translators, and shielding from ICE. Conversation about homeowners excludes renters without insurance. People need support to rebuild their lives & futures on their own terms in the wake of insurance companies dropping coverage & corporations vying to swoop in and colonize entire neighborhoods. Community organizing beyond reactivity starts with each of us!

Resources for people in the LA area below:

LA Fires Mutual Aid Resources

MALAN Fire & Wind Storm Available Resources

SoCal Mutual Aid Discord

Signal Group

[4setsofcorsets]

Hey so I have noticed a phenomenon. I (white person interested in medical ethics, history of medicine, and social justice) take every opportunity to recommend the groundbreaking book Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington, which is about the history of anti-Blackness in health care in the USA. I have only ever gotten one of two reactions when recommending this book.

Black person: yeah, I’ve read it/have it/it’s on my list.

White person: I don’t know, seems awfully heavy…

All this to say. If you live in the US or have a strong interest in social issues here, or enough interest in medicine to pick up a pop history book about it, please read Medical Apartheid. Especially as the disastrous healthcare system here is even more in the news than usual, it’s important that there be a broader understanding of what an intersectional quagmire of injustice we’re dealing with. Even if it is “awfully heavy.”

[king-corvid93]

Currently, I’m reading Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington….this is the first time I’ve had to take a mental break from a book in years. Omg this book is so rough. It’s REALLY good. Amazing, but rough af (respectfully).

(I’m only on chapter 4)

[largemuscle69]

BOOK 1: Medical Apartheid by Harriet Washington

Truly just a stunning book. Written in an easily digestible manner, Washington walks us through the systematic abuses African Americans have suffered at the hands of the medical system from slavery until now. I felt this was particularly important to read as an early career scientist that might continue in a future of medical research.

[nakeddeparture]

Medical Apartheid - What’s in those pills they so readily give to inmates at Hotel St Philip/Dodds Prison - Barbados.

https://youtu.be/7fr56K7AD5I

Who are the foreigners reporting back to? Why are things getting worse? Don’t you have questions??? Naked!!

Like/share/subscribe - ✔️🔔/HAVE YOUR SAY/comment on YouTube (it costs you nothing). WhatsApp #2527225512.

[thoughtfulfangirling]

The perception of evil in such cases, I realized, can prove as damaging as malfeasance itself.

— Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington

[idontmindifuforgetme]

Is anyone else in that post reading slump stage where they wanna take up Everything and it burns them out 😭😭 my tbr is sooo crazy rn like I think the only way to consume books the way I used to is just to accept that I’ll only be reading two books at a time to start and to just forget about the books I WANT to read bc it makes me short circuit every time

[safirefire]

im still in the middle of Medical Apartheid and Cobalt Red just came off hold but then I remembered that All This Twisted Glory (This Woven Kingdom #3) comes out next week on Feb 6th and now I’m re-reading the first two because I loved them so much they really hit my need for a fantasy with an interesting plot plus a good romance and it’s by the same author who wrote Shatter Me so if you liked that series I highly recommend it because the main character is so Juliette coded and the writing is so beautiful with funny and quippy dialogue but their speech pattern is Victorian so it’s like a Cinderella/regency romance in a Persian inspired setting with djinn and magic so anyway this is about to be a Tahereh Mafi account for the next two weeks

but also I feel a little bit like

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

"Proud of your greatness as a tennis player, prouder of your greatness as a man. Your stand should bridge the gap between races and inspire black people the world over and also affect the decency of all Americans." Jackie Robinson, September 10th 1968 Congratulatory Telegram to US Open Winner, Lieutenant Arthur Ashe who paid $20 per diem while his $14,000 prize money went to the runner-up, Tom Okker

What a Royal Box Day 14: The Royal Box for the Men’s Wimbledon Final Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of a Tennis Legend

Sunday, July 13th 2025 Celebrates the Wimbledon victory that changed the world: Arthur Ashe and his Wimbledon 50 Anniversary

Dear Kensington Palce, it's evident in the body language of Arthur Ashe's widow, Mrs. Jeanne Ashe, that your team, TRH The Prince & Princess of Wales, and the Wimbledon staff rolled out the royal red carpet (or in this case the green carpet) for the family and friends of tennis legend and humanitarian, Mr. Arthur Ashe, in honour of the historic 50th anniversary historic defeat of favored player, Jimmy Connors. On the royal box videos, Mrs. Ashe and Mr. Johnnie Ashe (Arthur's brother) appeared to be deeply humbled by your support of them and the Ashe legacy. From Wimbledon, Arthur Ashe changed the world. How sweet to see Prince George and Princess Charlotte sincerely honoured to make their acquaintance. Well done! 👍🏿👑GRITS

Wimbledon Reporter Sarah Edworthy: "Arthur Ashe famously said “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome” – a twist on Kipling’s famous appeal to treat the two imposters of Triumph and Disaster just the same, lines which Alcaraz and Sinner saw emblazoned above the entrance to Centre Court en route to their third final this year. 

On this the 50th anniversary of Ashe’s Wimbledon victory, it was tremendous to see among special Royal Box guests Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, his widow, who sat with Camera Ashe and Johnnie Ashe, the great American’s daughter and brother. 

Also taking his place in the distinctive green wicker chairs was Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr, a leading Harvard professor and the first African-American speaker at the Royal Academy annual dinner in the RA’s 250-year history. Skip knew Ashe well and covered Wimbledon for Time magazine in the 1970s."

"The Wimbledon Compendium summary of that sun-baked Championships 50 years ago serves as a reminder of the thrill of Ashe’s impactful win:

“[He] became the first black Gentlemen’s Singles Champion, as he defied the predictions of many experts to beat the bullish top seed, and reigning champion, Jimmy Connors in four sets.”

Tennis star Arthur Ashe gives a lengthy TV interview that aired on June 2, 1992, eight months before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia.

Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open.

Wimbledon tribute to Arthur Ashe featuring vocals by Gregory Porter

The anniversary party sat among some of Ashe’s playing peers and fellow Wimbledon champions, notably fellow American Stan Smith (1972) and Jan Kodes (1973). 

Champions from further along the timeline included Stefan Edberg (1988, 1990), Andre Agassi (1992), Richard Krajicek (1996) and Lleyton Hewitt (2002).

American icon Chris Evert, champion here in 1974, 1976 and 1981, was in the Royal Box to witness the latest instalment of the great rivalry developing between Alcaraz and Sinner. Her status in the women’s game as one half of its unparalleled all-time duopoly – with Martina Navratilova – is a touchstone of inspiration for players in all events.

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Another athlete sitting in one of the sought after spots in the Royal Box today was Mark Precious, a former student at University College in Oxford.The former field hockey player won the bronze medal with the British team at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

After winning the US Open in 1968 and becoming the first African-American man to win a major, Arthur Ashe received a congratulatory telegram from baseball legend Jackie Robinson that read:

"Proud of your greatness as a tennis player, prouder of your greatness as a man. Your stand should bridge the gap between races and inspire black people the world over and also affect the decency of all Americans."

In a famous incident, Arthur Ashe, as an amateur in 1968, won the first US Open, but was ineligible to accept the prize money. The $14,000 prize went to the runner-up, Tom Okker, while Ashe received only a $20 per diem. This was because Ashe was in the Army at the time and chose to maintain his amateur status to remain eligible for the Davis Cup. 

GRITS: I was a young student when one of my father's heros, Arthur Ashe, passed away in 1993. If my memory serves me correct, I read aloud this poem : "Where Are You Going, Great-Heart?" by William Arthur Dunkerley aka "John Oxenham" Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

With your eager face and your fiery grace?-

    Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To fight a fight with all my might,

    For Truth and Justice, God and Right,

    To grace all Life with His fair Light."

        Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To beard the Devil in his den;

    To smite him with the strength of ten;

    To set at large the souls of men."

        Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To end the rule of knavery;

    To break the yoke of slavery;

    To give the world delivery."

        Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To hurl high-stationed evil down;

    To set the Cross above the crown;

    To spread abroad my King's renown."

        Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To cleanse the earth of noisome things;

    To draw from life its poison-stings;

    To give free play to Freedom's wings."

       Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To lift To-day above the Past;

    To make To-morrow sure and fast;

    To nail God's colors to the mast."

       Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To break down old dividing-lines;

    To carry out my Lord's designs;

    To build again His broken shrines."

       Then God go with you, Great-Heart!

Where are you going, Great-Heart?

    "To set all burdened peoples free

    To win for all God's liberty;

    To 'stablish His sweet sovereignty."

        God goeth with you, Great-Heart!

Analysis of "Where Are You Going, Great-Heart?" by John Oxenham:

"A powerful and inspiring poem that captures the spirit of idealism and the pursuit of a better world. The poem consists of a series of questions and answers, with each question posed to "Great-Heart," a symbol of hope and determination.

Great-Heart's responses reveal a profound commitment to fighting for truth, justice, and the liberation of humanity. He embarks on a journey to challenge evil, break down barriers, and spread the message of love and freedom. The poem's language is simple and direct, yet it conveys a powerful sense of purpose and conviction.

Compared to Oxenham's other works, this poem stands out for its optimistic tone and its focus on collective action. It reflects the idealism and social consciousness that characterized the early 20th century, a time of great social and political upheaval.

In terms of its impact on the time period, the poem served as a rallying cry for those fighting for social justice and human rights. It provided inspiration and hope during a time of great uncertainty and struggle. Its message of hope and determination continues to resonate with readers today, reminding us that even in the darkest of times, it is possible to strive for a better future."

William Arthur Dunkerley: Pen name John Oxenham, Julian Ross OccupationJournalist, novelist, poet, publisher Nationality British Period 1892 to 1931

 (12 November 1852–23 January 1941)

Dunkerley wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. 

An English journalist, novelist and poet. He was born in Manchester, spent a short time after his marriage in the US before moving to Ealing, West London, where he served as deacon and teacher at the Ealing Congregational Church from the 1880s. In 1922 he moved to Worthing in Sussex, where he became the town's mayor.

Advocating for Medical Privacy at the National Press Club

Arthur Ashe on Larry King Live: Tennis star Arthur Ashe gives a lengthy TV interview that aired on June 2, 1992, eight months before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia. Ashe was the first black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open.

[riserebelresistxx]

[agentfascinateur]

Google ganging up to smear Francesca Albanese

#end zionist monopolies

[haveyoureadthispoll]

From the era of slavery to the present day, the first full history of black America’s shocking mistreatment as unwilling and unwitting experimental subjects at the hands of the medical establishment. Medical Apartheid is the first and only comprehensive history of medical experimentation on African Americans. Starting with the earliest encounters between black Americans and Western medical researchers and the racist pseudoscience that resulted, it details the ways both slaves and freedmen were used in hospitals for experiments conducted without their knowledge—a tradition that continues today within some black populations. It reveals how blacks have historically been prey to grave-robbing as well as unauthorized autopsies and dissections. Moving into the twentieth century, it shows how the pseudoscience of eugenics and social Darwinism was used to justify experimental exploitation and shoddy medical treatment of blacks, and the view that they were biologically inferior, oversexed, and unfit for adult responsibilities. Shocking new details about the government’s notorious Tuskegee experiment are revealed, as are similar, less-well-known medical atrocities conducted by the government, the armed forces, prisons, and private institutions. The product of years of prodigious research into medical journals and experimental reports long undisturbed, Medical Apartheid reveals the hidden underbelly of scientific research and makes possible, for the first time, an understanding of the roots of the African American health deficit. At last, it provides the fullest possible context for comprehending the behavioral fallout that has caused black Americans to view researchers—and indeed the whole medical establishment—with such deep distrust. No one concerned with issues of public health and racial justice can afford not to read Medical Apartheid, a masterful book that will stir up both controversy and long-needed debate.