Medical Racism: What You Need to Know

How unethical medical treatment has impacted Blacks.

A Rich History of Racism Among the Medical Community  - Recent news that Johns Hopkins Hospital is being sued for infecting study participants with STDs in the 1950s reminds us that this type of medical mistreatment of people of color is not new. From horrendous experiments to ill treatment in the doctor’s office, here’s a look at how racism and bias has impacted the Black body. — Kellee Terrell(Photo: Caiaimage/Martin Barraud/Getty Images)

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A Rich History of Racism Among the Medical Community  - Recent news that Johns Hopkins Hospital is being sued for infecting study participants with STDs in the 1950s reminds us that this type of medical mistreatment of people of color is not new. From horrendous experiments to ill treatment in the doctor’s office, here’s a look at how racism and bias has impacted the Black body. — Kellee Terrell(Photo: Caiaimage/Martin Barraud/Getty Images)

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments - This infamous 40-year series of experiments, conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service in Tuskegee, Ala., told Black men that they were receiving free health care, when in reality, hundreds of Black men with syphilis were being withheld treatment. Some of the men died from the disease while 40 wives and 19 children contracted the disease that is treated with penicillin. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

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Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments - This infamous 40-year series of experiments, conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service in Tuskegee, Ala., told Black men that they were receiving free health care, when in reality, hundreds of Black men with syphilis were being withheld treatment. Some of the men died from the disease while 40 wives and 19 children contracted the disease that is treated with penicillin. (Photo: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend Images/Corbis)

Cloning Henrietta Lacks’s Cervical Cells - Henrietta Lacks never consented to having her cervical cells taken and cultured in a lab, but her cells were the first known human immortal cells used in medical research. Now referred to as the HeLa cell line, these cells have been used for research for AIDS, cancer, gene mapping and other scientific work. Her life is being turned into an HBO film produced by Oprah Winfrey. (Photo: Environment Images/UIG/Getty Images)

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Cloning Henrietta Lacks’s Cervical Cells - Henrietta Lacks never consented to having her cervical cells taken and cultured in a lab, but her cells were the first known human immortal cells used in medical research. Now referred to as the HeLa cell line, these cells have been used for research for AIDS, cancer, gene mapping and other scientific work. Her life is being turned into an HBO film produced by Oprah Winfrey. (Photo: Environment Images/UIG/Getty Images)

Unknown and Forced Sterilizations Among Black and Latina Women - There has been a rich history Black and Latina women fighting to keep their fertility. From the early 20th century to the 1950s and 1960s where it reached its height, women of color were targeted and sterilized to limit how many children they had. This issue hasn’t gone away: California prisons were illegally sterilizing 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010, noted The Nation. (Photo: Slobodan Vasic / Getty Images)

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Unknown and Forced Sterilizations Among Black and Latina Women - There has been a rich history Black and Latina women fighting to keep their fertility. From the early 20th century to the 1950s and 1960s where it reached its height, women of color were targeted and sterilized to limit how many children they had. This issue hasn’t gone away: California prisons were illegally sterilizing 150 female inmates from 2006 to 2010, noted The Nation. (Photo: Slobodan Vasic / Getty Images)

Johns Hopkins Hospital STD Study - More than 700 people are suing Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, claiming they were injected with numerous STDs while taking part in a study conducted from 1945-1956. The Associated Press reported that the plaintiffs are seeking “$1 billion in damages for individuals, spouses and children of people infected with syphilis, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases.(Photo: Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)

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Johns Hopkins Hospital STD Study - More than 700 people are suing Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, claiming they were injected with numerous STDs while taking part in a study conducted from 1945-1956. The Associated Press reported that the plaintiffs are seeking “$1 billion in damages for individuals, spouses and children of people infected with syphilis, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases.(Photo: Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis)

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Holmesburg Prison Experiments - Dr. Albert M. Kligman, the dermatologist who created the popular skin medicine Retin-A, conducted numerous unethical experiments on prisoners in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s-1970s. He tested toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, skin creams, detergents, liquid diets, eye drops, foot powders, hair dye and mind-altering drugs on Black male prisoners, the Baltimore Sun wrote. (Photo: Chaloner Woods/Getty Images)

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Holmesburg Prison Experiments - Dr. Albert M. Kligman, the dermatologist who created the popular skin medicine Retin-A, conducted numerous unethical experiments on prisoners in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg Prison from the 1950s-1970s. He tested toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, skin creams, detergents, liquid diets, eye drops, foot powders, hair dye and mind-altering drugs on Black male prisoners, the Baltimore Sun wrote. (Photo: Chaloner Woods/Getty Images)

Radiation Experiments of Black Cancer Patients - Between 1960-1971, 88 cancer patients, mostly low-income and Black, were exposed to high levels of radiation at the University of Cincinnati by Dr. Eugene Saenger. No consent forms were signed and in 1972 reports showed that more than 25 percent of the patients had died from radiation exposure, Salon reported. (Photo: Jupiterimages/Getty Images)

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Radiation Experiments of Black Cancer Patients - Between 1960-1971, 88 cancer patients, mostly low-income and Black, were exposed to high levels of radiation at the University of Cincinnati by Dr. Eugene Saenger. No consent forms were signed and in 1972 reports showed that more than 25 percent of the patients had died from radiation exposure, Salon reported. (Photo: Jupiterimages/Getty Images)

Countless Surgical Experiments on Slaves - In addition to being bought, sold and beaten, with slavery came generations of experimentation on Black slaves, especially from the father of gynecology, J. Marion Sims. He experimented on hundreds of female slaves without their consent and without anesthesia.(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Countless Surgical Experiments on Slaves - In addition to being bought, sold and beaten, with slavery came generations of experimentation on Black slaves, especially from the father of gynecology, J. Marion Sims. He experimented on hundreds of female slaves without their consent and without anesthesia.(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

To Trust or Not to Trust - Clearly, this tumultuous past between Blacks and the medical community can make us weary. But here’s what we know: Participating in clinical trials can change lives and improve the health of our community as a whole. It's important to know how different medicines impact different people. (Photo: Tetra Images / Getty Images)

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To Trust or Not to Trust - Clearly, this tumultuous past between Blacks and the medical community can make us weary. But here’s what we know: Participating in clinical trials can change lives and improve the health of our community as a whole. It's important to know how different medicines impact different people. (Photo: Tetra Images / Getty Images)

How This Mistust Influences Our Present - Because of this past, there has been a high level of mistrust from folks in our community over the years, causing serious doubts about the origins of HIV/AIDS, being in clinical trials, not wanting to go to the doctor and believing that women’s health clinics are there for genocide. A 2013 study found that 59 percent of Blacks bought into conspiracy theories compared to 38.9 percent of whites. And often times, buying into these theories does more harm than good. (Photo: MissouriLife.org/ThatsAbortion.com)

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How This Mistust Influences Our Present - Because of this past, there has been a high level of mistrust from folks in our community over the years, causing serious doubts about the origins of HIV/AIDS, being in clinical trials, not wanting to go to the doctor and believing that women’s health clinics are there for genocide. A 2013 study found that 59 percent of Blacks bought into conspiracy theories compared to 38.9 percent of whites. And often times, buying into these theories does more harm than good. (Photo: MissouriLife.org/ThatsAbortion.com)

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What Racism in the Exam Room Looks Like Now - While unethical racial experiments are not the norm in 2015, that doesn’t mean that racism is exempt from health care. Numerous studies have shown how racism impacts us: Blacks are less likely to be given pain medication, receive worse care and are less likely to be perceived as intelligent. And add to that the fact that white doctors prefer white patients. (Photo: Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak Media Ltd./Corbis)

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What Racism in the Exam Room Looks Like Now - While unethical racial experiments are not the norm in 2015, that doesn’t mean that racism is exempt from health care. Numerous studies have shown how racism impacts us: Blacks are less likely to be given pain medication, receive worse care and are less likely to be perceived as intelligent. And add to that the fact that white doctors prefer white patients. (Photo: Wavebreak Media LTD/Wavebreak Media Ltd./Corbis)

No Matter What: Health Care Is Still Important - Regardless of our past, having health insurance and access to quality health care — preventive and treatment — can save our lives. Don’t allow mistrust to stop you from being empowered concerning your health. (Photo: Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury/Getty Images)

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No Matter What: Health Care Is Still Important - Regardless of our past, having health insurance and access to quality health care — preventive and treatment — can save our lives. Don’t allow mistrust to stop you from being empowered concerning your health. (Photo: Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury/Getty Images)