The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Division of Biology and Biomedical Science’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Student and Alumni Affairs are hosting a series of events inspired by HELA100: The Lacks Family’s on-going effort to increase awareness about Henrietta Lacks and the store of her immortal cells.

This program seeks to be a critical space for participants to recognize and grapple with the complexities of mistrust among Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) in healthcare and biomedical research.  It is deeply important to understand the history of racism in healthcare and science, such as the story of Henrietta Lacks. It is also true that everyday racism within these systems perpetuates current day mistrust.  The COVID-19 vaccine has highlighted this reality and provides important context for how institutions like WUSM need to change in order to rebuild trust with our BIPOC communities.

Please be prepared that we will be having small group activities as a part of this workshop, in addition to pre-work. We hope you will be able to engage with the brief readings below as a primer for our discussion. Please come prepared for an active learning environment.

Pre-Work:

NYT: 1916 Selection: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/racial-differences-doctors.html

More than Tuskegee: Understanding Mistrust about Research Participation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4354806/

Beyond Tuskegee — Vaccine Distrust and Everyday Racism: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMpv2035827

Please register to attend this event:

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all Washington University School of Medicine sponsored events.  If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this event, at least one week before the event, please contact the Washington University School of Medicine Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in advance at 314-273-2809 or MedDEI@wustl.edu.