Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment

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Susan M. Reverby |

TED-Ed

• June 2021

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].