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 …
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.
An Important and Wide-Ranging Book on Medical Research, Race, and Bioethics
4 stars
This is an essential book, covering hundreds of years of extremely unethical experiments on Black people in the US and abroad and the implication of that history for medical science and bioethics today. Washington goes into a lot of detail about some of these cases, which make for extremely troubling reading - I had to take a break multiple times. There are some issues I have with the statistical/side effect reading of some of the more recent research discussed in this book, but it doesn't take away from the overwhelming case for a thorough societal accounting of the huge number of injustices here. Highly recommend.
This is an incredibly difficult book to read. The pure amount of absolutely horrible things that have been done by doctors and in the name of medical research to black people since the times of slavery and still today is unfathomable. Make a list of the worst things you can think of, and it has been much much worse. This book is as good as it is not just because it has been meticulously researched, but because Harriet Washington draws conclusions, like that the iatrophobia among blacks (fear of doctors) is well grounded, but also that this is and will be to the detriment of black people. Medical research is important, and the participation of black people is essential, while staying vigilant about research protocols is a sad necessity, since informed consent is still being violated in our times. Frankly, I want to tie every single racist down and make …
This is an incredibly difficult book to read. The pure amount of absolutely horrible things that have been done by doctors and in the name of medical research to black people since the times of slavery and still today is unfathomable. Make a list of the worst things you can think of, and it has been much much worse. This book is as good as it is not just because it has been meticulously researched, but because Harriet Washington draws conclusions, like that the iatrophobia among blacks (fear of doctors) is well grounded, but also that this is and will be to the detriment of black people. Medical research is important, and the participation of black people is essential, while staying vigilant about research protocols is a sad necessity, since informed consent is still being violated in our times. Frankly, I want to tie every single racist down and make them listen to this book. Maybe three times over.
