Miss Evers' Boys * Special Event

First and foremost, Howard University has the most talented students on the face of this earth! I had never heard about this story before going to see the students' play. "The story chronicles the experience of Miss Eunice Evers, the public health nurse who attempts to aid four of the men in the study but is disillusioned by self-serving doctors and Washington bureaucracy. After money is no longer available, the doctors devise the Tuskegee Study to change the direction of their work from the treatment of syphilis to the observation of the ravages of the disease; keeping the money rolling in, all in the name of science. The doctors use deceitful tactics to prevent their patients from receiving the newly developed miracle drug penicillin, which benefits others who are not in the study." The men in the play are taken care of by Miss Evers, like a mother would care for her children, but yet she allowed such actions to take place.  Many in the public health and research community will tell you that the mistrust that African Americans and other ethnic groups have, has less to do with the Syphilis Study and more to do with the overarching issue of racism in America. While some reports and research confirms this, the medical and health care communities must stay vigilant in creating health care settings that are welcoming, embracing, and respectful of all cultures. Where I am from, when you are ill, you don't go to the doctor; you use home remedies. However, I aspire to become a doctor, and I want to eliminate the mistrust of healthcare professionals within the African American community.It amazes me what people would do for the sake of keeping their title and financial stability. My heart and mind could not wrap around the fact that the U.S. government basically condoned an immoral, racist scientific experiment for forty years.