For African-Americans to believe, or at least wonder, as many did in the early years of the epidemic, that the US government had an AIDS conspiracy against black people seems ludicrous. However, if you know anything about the Tuskegee experiments, you might just begin to understand the widespread suspicion that most blacks had of the US government. Many still do harbor a lot of suspicion. Read on and tell me if you might share this feeling if you had grown up as an AA in the US in the 1960s.
From 1932 to 1972, the U.S. Health Service performed experiments on 399 poor, uneducated black men who were prisoners in Alabama and had syphilis. The USHS refused to tell these men the name or nature of their illness and refused to give them any treatment. This was a medical experiment on human subjects who had not given their permission, who in fact had no idea what was going on. Several medical institutions, including Tuskegee University hospital, lent their medical staff and facilities to the USHS for this experiment.
It wasn’t until 1972 when Harry Reasoner broke this story that public outrage forced the USHS to shut down the program. Did you get that? 1972!!! after the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers who were well loved and admired by many African-Americans, after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., etc. etc. Racial profiling by police was widespread. Do you get the picture?
You can read more about this disgraceful episode in our history here: http://www.tuskegee.edu/...
Wouldn’t you also want to say, "God damn America!" ???
I don’t understand the fierce uproar over this exclamation, except for it being stoked by right wing commentators. But so many otherwise sensible people are buying into the condemnation. Haven’t you ever had a friend or loved one hurt you or do something to which you responded (or wanted to respond), "God damn you!" ???
Conservatives rattle on and on about taking responsibility but rebuff progressive efforts to hold our nation as a whole responsible for its crimes and fiascos. I don’t get it! The latter is "un-American" and "un-patriotic." If you don’t like this country, you can leave it, they say. Well then, if they don’t like what their spouse is doing, are they to divorce him/her?
Let’s do a reality check:
- Are you African-American or biracial?
- Do you have, or have you had, any AA or biracial friends (not just acquaintances)?
- Have you ever studied American history from the AA perspective?
- Have you ever read any autobiographies by AAs?
- Have you ever visited the worship service of an AA congregation and discussed it with someone afterwards?
- Have you ever made any effort to study or understand AA culture?
If you can’t answer "yes" to (1) or at least 2 of questions (2) through (6), then I think you have some work to do before you so easily condemn the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ.
PS – The AA style of worship has its origins in the experience of slavery. That’s a remarkable story in itself.