Publisher Description
In 1932, the US Public Health Service recruited 623 African American men from Macon County, Alabama, for a study of "the effects of untreated syphilis in the Negro male." For the next forty years—even after the development of penicillin, the cure for syphilis—these men were denied medical care for this potentially fatal disease.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was exposed in 1972, and in 1975 the government settled a lawsuit but stopped short of admitting wrongdoing. In 1997, President Bill Clinton welcomed five of the study survivors to the White House and, on behalf of the nation, officially apologized for an experiment he described as wrongful and racist.
In this book, the attorney for the men describes the background of the study, the investigation and the lawsuit, the events leading up to the presidential apology, and the ongoing efforts to see that out of this painful and tragic episode of American history comes lasting good.
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About the Authors
Fred D. Gray, one of the nation’s leading civil rights attorneys, was the lawyer for Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which began the modern Civil Rights Movement. His other cases and clients include the Freedom Riders, the Selma to Montgomery March, John Lewis, numerous school desegregation and voting rights lawsuits, and many others. He lives in Tuskegee, Alabama.
About David Sadzin
Allyson Ryan is an Earphones Award–winning voice actress who can be heard in commercials, promos, animation, and audiobooks. She has extensive experience on stage and television. In New York, she acted in and directed more than thirty plays. Her television credits include roles on Eleventh Hour, Law & Order, and One Life to Live. She has also appeared as “Mom” in several television commercials. Advertising Age nominated her for a Bobby Award in the best actress category for her work as the Duracell mom.