Susan M. Reverby: Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment

Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment

Afflicting nearly 1 in 10 Americans, syphilis was ravaging the U.S. in the 1930s. Many doctors believed syphilis affected Black and white patients differently, and the Public Health Service launched an experiment to investigate, recruiting 600 Black men to take part. But the study was centered on a lie: the men wouldn't actually receive treatment. Susan Reverby details the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. [Directed by Ouros Animation, narrated by Christina Greer, music Stephen LaRosa].

Nearly one in ten Americans battled syphilis in the 1930s, but hope turned to harm in Alabama, where 600 Black men were deceived into joining a study that denied them treatment. Researchers withheld lifesaving penicillin for decades, even as the drug’s effectiveness became widely known. The experiment continued for forty years, causing suffering across generations and fueling lasting distrust in medical institutions. This episode underscores the urgent need for ethical safeguards and structural reform in healthcare.