Page 8 The Skanner May 17, 2017
News
For Tuskegee Syphilis Study Descendants, Stigma Hasn’t Faded
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
TUSKEGEE, Ala. — Decades
later, it’s still hard to grasp
what the federal government
did to hundreds of black men
in rural Alabama — even if
you’re among their descen-
dants, lighting candles in their
memory.
For 40 years starting in 1932,
medical workers in the seg-
regated South withheld treat-
ment for unsuspecting men
infected with a sexually trans-
mitted disease simply so doc-
“
ing linked to the experiment,
commonly known today as the
“Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” For
years they have met privately
to share their pain and honor
the victims.
And, amazingly, that class-ac-
tion lawsuit filed by the men in
1973 has outlived them all. The
litigation continues to this day,
with a federal court currently
considering a request that will
help determine the study’s fi-
nal legacy.
A key, unanswered question:
What should be done with un-
claimed settlement money that
After he found out about it he had
to live with it. That could bring a
person down if he wasn’t strong.
He was angry and he was upset
tors could track the ravages of
the horrid illness and dissect
their bodies afterward.
Finally exposed in 1972 , the
study ended and the men sued,
resulting in a $9 million settle-
ment. Twenty years ago this
May, President Bill Clinton
apologized for the U.S. govern-
ment. It seemed to mark the
end of this ugly episode, once
and for all.
Except it didn’t.
Relatives of the men still
struggle with the stigma of be-
still sits in court-controlled ac-
counts?
“The Tuskegee Study of
Untreated Syphilis in the
Negro Male”
Lille Tyson Head wants you
to know that her father, Fred-
die Lee Tyson, wasn’t just a
man infected with syphilis.
Once a sharecropper in the
fields of rural eastern Ala-
bama, Tyson became a car-
penter early in his marriage
to Johnnie Mae Neal Tyson.
He helped build Moton Field,
NATIONAL ARCHIVES VIA AP
Survivors ponder what to do with unclaimed settlement money that still sits in court-controlled accounts
In this 1950’s photo released by the National Archives, men included in a syphilis
study pose for a photo in Tuskegee, Ala. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical
workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for unsuspecting men infected
with a sexually transmitted disease simply so doctors could track the ravages of
the horrid illness and dissect their bodies afterward. It was finally exposed in 1972.
where the famed “Tuskegee
Airmen” learned to fly during
World War II, he later worked
as a firefighter there, his
daughter said. He also worked
for the government after it
established the Tuskegee Na-
tional Forest in eastern Ala-
bama. Around 1960, he moved
the family out of the Jim Crow
South to Connecticut, where
he worked in a factory.
“He was a wise man, very
gentle. He was a disciplined
man. Active in the church,
loved his family and his ex-
tended family,” said Head, of
Wirtz, Virginia, one of the Ty-
sons’ eight children. “He was
a good man. He had a sense of
humor, he was a good dancer.”
Though he displayed no
symptoms, Tyson also was
born with congenital syphi-
lis inherited from his mother,
Head said. And that is how he
became a participant in “The
Tuskegee Study of Untreated
Syphilis in the Negro Male.”
Located about 40 miles east
of the state capital of Mont-
gomery, Macon County is one
of the poorest places in a poor
state. In the early 1900s, the
majority black county was a
hotbed for syphilis, which af-
fected about 35 percent of its
residents of reproductive age.
In 1929, government doctors
working in conjunction with
a philanthropic fund began
treating syphilis patients in
the county with bismuth and
mercury. Few people were
cured, according to a summary
from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and
some died.
Three years later, the U.S.
Public Health Service, work-
ing with state and local health
agencies, began what was sup-
posed to be a short-lived pro-
gram in Tuskegee to record
the progression of the illness,
which begins with a small
sore and can progress to open
wounds, blindness, deafness,
mental illness and death.
Workers initially recruited
600 black men into a health
program with the promise of
free medical checks, free food,
free transportation and burial
insurance in a county where
See TUSKEGEE on page 10
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working
in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held
belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work.
A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also
allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more
responsive to their citizens’ needs.
Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building
trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help
people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear
regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs.
Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters
Representing more than 5,000 construction workers in Oregon State.
Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter?
Go to www.NWCarpenters.org
PORTLAND OFFICE
1636 East Burnside, Portland, OR 97214
503.261.1862 | 800.974.9052
HEADQUARTERS
25120 Pacific Hwy S, Suite 200, Kent, WA 98032
253.954.8800 | 800.573.8333