The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation has announced a new scholarship program for the descendants of the infamous federal Tuskegee Experiment. In this appalling study, hundreds of Black men were left untreated for syphilis for decades.
It comes more than 50 years after the revelation of the unethical experiment created shock waves across the country. The foundation launched the “Voices Today for Change Tomorrow” scholarship for the victims’ relatives on Feb. 7.
The CDC Foundation, which describes itself as an “independent nonprofit and the sole entity created by Congress to mobilize philanthropic and private-sector resources to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s critical health protection work,” aims to raise $5 million for the Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation, created by descendants in 2014. The plan is to provide $100,000 in scholarships annually. The efforts follow a financial commitment from the Milbank Memorial Fund in 2022.
The study, spearheaded by the US Public Health Service in collaboration with the Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, Alabama, in 1932, was made up of 600 Black men, including 399 who had syphilis and 201 who didn’t. The group was told that they were going to be treated for “bad blood” in exchange for benefits like free food, free medical exams, and burial insurance.
When the penicillin treatment was made available in 1943, they were not offered the medicine from researchers, resulting in more than 100 deaths. In addition, 19 children were diagnosed with congenital syphilis, and 40 wives were also infected.
The unethical study was halted shortly after a blockbuster story from The Associated Press in 1972. The event often is cited as a large contributor to medical mistrust throughout the Black community. According to the AP, the men received a multi-million settlement, and President Bill Clinton called it “shameful” in his apology in 1997.
Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation President Lillie Head said the goal is to “transform” the legacy of the study and hopes that the program is a more significant commitment to an equitable healthcare system.
“We believe this scholarship endowment fund and partnership demonstrate a new and lasting commitment to improving a health care system that provides everyone fair and equal medical care regardless of their racial and social status. We have enormous gratitude for the support for the annual scholarships for future generations of descendants,” Head said.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a community organization based in New Jersey, donated $1 million to the program. CDC Director Mandy Cohen said the scholarship is a step in the right direction “toward correcting an inexcusable violation of medical ethics.”
“It seeks to uplift the descendants of the Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee and takes steps toward rectifying a difficult part of our public health history,” Cohen added.
