For almost 40 years starting in the 1930s, as government researchers purposely let hundreds of Black men die of syphilis in Alabama so they could study the disease, a foundation in New York covered funeral expenses for the deceased.
The payments were vital to survivors of the victims in a time and place ravaged by poverty and racism.
Fifty years after the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study was revealed to the public and halted, the organization that made those funeral payments, the Milbank Memorial Fund, is publicly apologizing to the descendants for its role. The move is rooted in America’s racial reckoning after George Floyd’s murder by police in 2020.Voices of our Fathers Legacy Foundation
Endowed in 1905 by Elizabeth Milbank Anderson, part of a wealthy and well-connected New York family, the fund was one of the nation’s first private foundations. The nonprofit philanthropy had some $90 million in assets in 2019, according to tax records, and an office on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. With an early focus on child welfare and public health, today it concentrates on health policy at the state level.
Lillie Tyson Head’s late father Freddie Lee Tyson was part of the study. She’s now president of the Voices of our Fathers group. She called the apology “a wonderful gesture and a wonderful thing” even if it comes 25 years after the U.S. government“It’s really something that could be used as an example of how apologies can be powerful in making reparations and restorative justice be real,” said Head.
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New York Fund Apologizes for Role in Tuskegee Syphilis Study - Alabama NewsThe apology and an accompanying monetary donation to a descendants' group were presented during a ceremony in Tuskegee at a gathering of children and other relatives of men who were part of the study. alnews tuskegee syphilis alabamanewsnetwork
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New York fund apologizes for role in Tuskegee syphilis studyFor almost 40 years starting in the 1930s, as government researchers purposely let hundreds of Black men die of syphilis in Alabama so they could study the disease, a foundation in New York covered funeral expenses for the deceased. The payments were vital to survivors of the victims in a time and place ravaged by poverty and racism.
Read more »
New York fund apologizes for role in Tuskegee syphilis studyA New York-based philanthropy is publicly apologizing for its role in the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study
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New York fund apologizes for role in Tuskegee syphilis studyFor almost 40 years starting in the 1930s, as government researchers purposely let hundreds of Black men die of syphilis in Alabama so they could study the disease, a foundation in New York covered funeral expenses for the deceased. Fifty years after the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study was revealed to the public and halted, the organization that made those funeral payments, the Milbank Memorial Fund, publicly apologized Saturday to descendants of the study's victims. The move is rooted in America's racial reckoning after George Floyd's murder by police in 2020.
Read more »