Rod and Karen discuss LGBTQ news, Jordan Peele fake controversy, black podcast write up, sex toy settlement, bridesmaid costs, Reese’s new candy, i-Con, Samuel L Jackson on black brit actors, Henrietta Lack’s family finally consulted, library vandalism, Memphis PD racism, black men lost St. Louis election for a sister, That’s Ya’ll Man, White People News, escaped Cobra, grandma in the trunk, man drags dead body into house and sword ratchetness.
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Write Up On Black Podcasts: http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article137480218.html
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Hey I was going to write an email but I figured I’d just leave a comment here.
The story of Henrietta Lacks, and the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment (done by the government 1932-1972) have been two of the things that inspired me to go into medicine as well as research. During my undergrad time at Tuskegee University as a Biology major (TU U KNOW! s/o to HBCUs), I got to learn more in depth about medical research as it pertains to the black community. We even take classes and have a museum in a building built around the hospital where the Syphilis experiment took place (it was remodeled: National Center For BIoethics in Research Health Care). Seeing Ms. Ever’s boys showed a little more about the treatment of the men in the “Tuskegee Experiment,” and all the government did was offer a fonky ass apology in 1997. https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/clintonp.htm
Due to what happened in each story researchers and physicians now have to take medical/research ethics courses, give participants informed consent forms (which are thoroughly explained to the individual before they sign it), and they have to submit an IRB to even have any human research trials approved.
I’m grateful for HeLa (hee- lah) cells and the many advancements in the medical community that have been made with them, but I hate how they were obtained, and the fact that Henrietta nor her family can get any compensation. I have never worked with those cells, but I do work with human donor cells in the lab in order to find treatments for individuals with Sickle Cell Disease. Today, donors are given compensation for their initial donation of cells, but aren’t given anything further (ie if I donated cervical cells for a study, I’d get paid a sum for the donation, but if they take my cells and find a cure for AIDS I won’t get any payment), The protocol is that the informed consent form tells the individual everything about the study and what the doctors will do with any sample that is collected from the participant.
I was never a bridesmaid but a Matron of Honor at my friend’s wedding. It was a destination wedding (to Florida) and of course there was the cost of the dress, shoes, hotel and plane ticket. I was not about that life after I found out the total cost. Luckily it was almost a year in advance and she knew I couldn’t afford it.
The Henrietta Lacks story is one of the most infuriating examples of the jig rising. When we say this country’s wealth was built on the backs of black bodies people like to pretend that ended in slavery IF they acknowledge that much. This shit never stopped, hell you were just talking about everybody profiting off of “on fleek” BUT Peaches. Even Kit Kat is in on the game (joking, but only kinda).
And I figured out how we make Sam Jackson happy and solve this Black British actor rift. We just need Arian Foster to head over there and play some of their roles. It’s only fair.
The other thing about the HeLa cells from Henrietta Lacks is the fact that other people w immortal cells have been compensated (and if I’m remembering correctly, they have been white) so the narrative about her cell tissue being medical waste feels moot in light of the fact that there are examples of the medical research community getting informed consent before experimenting. Also, this is a trillion dollar industry that continues to profit from her contribution (contribution feels like a choice, so I’ll say, ‘continues to profit from this theft’). Justice has not been served!
By the way, the book is a fantastic read!
Oh my gosh, Karen’s comment, “The only thing Barack is tapping is Michelle’s ass!!” LOL! I’M DEAD!
Love you two, all the best!
On Sam Jackson’s comment he does have somewhat of a point but it’s rooted in white supremacy and probably not well illustrated by using “Get Out”, a black production, as an example.
The US and Europe seem to work on the principle of those niggers from over there are better than our niggers over here. By that I mean that black people from elsewhere seem to be treated a lot better than the homegrown ones.
I recently read an essay written by Malcom Gladwell back in ’96 that explored why West Indians seemed to do better than American blacks in the New York area. Further study showed that white people in hiring positions told themselves that these West Indians had a better work ethic than local blacks. They seemed to have that perception for no other reason other than that the immigrants were from somewhere else. Ironically though, in Toronto where there had been an explosion of the black population in the 60’s when West Indians started moving there in droves, they were seen as loud, lazy and possessing a bad work ethic by the 90’s.
On the flip side in Europe, black Americans are treated with deference, especially in Paris and London. Since the 20’s African Americans like Josephine Baker and James Baldwin emigrated to Europe to find they were treated like royalty compared to the segregation and shit they left behind. Today, black tourists are not treated like black locals, who face the type of shit back people face in the States. It brings to mind the standing ovations that Baldwin got at Oxford back in the day.