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Medical Apartheid

The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present

15 minHarriet A. Washington

What's it about

Have you ever felt a deep mistrust of the medical system but couldn't quite explain why? This book summary uncovers the shocking, documented history of medical experimentation on Black Americans, revealing the dark roots of that very real and justified skepticism. You'll learn how landmark medical "advances" were built on the suffering of Black bodies, from the era of slavery to modern times. Discover the truth behind the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, the exploitation of Henrietta Lacks, and other buried stories that expose a disturbing legacy of racial bias in American medicine.

Meet the author

Harriet A. Washington is an award-winning medical ethicist and author whose work has earned her a National Book Critics Circle Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. A classically trained historian and former fellow at Harvard Medical School, she has dedicated her career to exposing the fraught intersection of medicine, ethics, and race. Her unique background allows her to meticulously uncover and articulate the hidden history of medical experimentation on Black Americans, bringing crucial, long-buried truths to light for a modern audience.

Medical Apartheid book cover