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].

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

Ugly History: The US syphilis experiment

Penicillin's emergence as a syphilis cure was withheld from Tuskegee study participants, prioritizing research over ethics.

The Tuskegee syphilis study's ethical breach spurred vital reforms in research, highlighting the imperative of informed consent.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study deceitfully withheld treatment from 600 Black men, revealing deep racial inequities in medicine.