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A review by lizmart88
Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present by Harriet A. Washington
challenging
dark
slow-paced
3.75
Whew. This book is heavy. And it contains so much truth that people need to hear. Harriet Washington doesn't shy away from the nuance and complexities around experimentation by medical authorities on Black bodies.
She discusses grave robbing and vaccine experiments. She covers the major scandals that many of us have likely heard about from the Tuskegee syphilis experiments to sterilization and experimentation of Black and women of color. She adds a lot of nuance and history to those episodes, covering the main facts as well as clear analysis about what drive the medical doctors to pursue those experiments and how it is reflective of white supremacy.
I learned a great deal from this book. I'll definitely be taking these lessons forward. There's really good reasons why Black men and women, and other people of color, have serious distrust of the medical system in this country. We can't ignore the true history when it's outlined so clearly and well.
It's not an easy read, but I still encourage people - especially doctors and those in the medical field - to confront our history with your own eyes.
She discusses grave robbing and vaccine experiments. She covers the major scandals that many of us have likely heard about from the Tuskegee syphilis experiments to sterilization and experimentation of Black and women of color. She adds a lot of nuance and history to those episodes, covering the main facts as well as clear analysis about what drive the medical doctors to pursue those experiments and how it is reflective of white supremacy.
I learned a great deal from this book. I'll definitely be taking these lessons forward. There's really good reasons why Black men and women, and other people of color, have serious distrust of the medical system in this country. We can't ignore the true history when it's outlined so clearly and well.
It's not an easy read, but I still encourage people - especially doctors and those in the medical field - to confront our history with your own eyes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma