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AP exposes the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: The 50th Anniversary

Lillie Tyson Head holds a photograph of her late parents, Freddie Lee and Johnnie Mae Neal Tyson, at her home in Wirtz, Va., on Saturday, July 23, 2022. Freddie Tyson was part of the infamous "Tuskegee Study," in which hundreds of Black men in Alabama went untreated for syphilis for decades so federal government researchers could record the disease's affects on the body. Head says her mother was later tested, and did not have the disease. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) FILE - In this 1950's photo released by the National Archives, a man included in a syphilis study has blood drawn by a doctor in Tuskegee, Ala. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for Black men who were unaware they had syphilis, so doctors could track the ravages of the illness and dissect their bodies afterward. Finally exposed in 1972, the study ended and the men sued, resulting in a $9 million settlement. (National Archives via AP) FILE - In this 1950's photo made available by the National Archives, men included in a syphilis study stand for a photo in Alabama. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for Black men who were unaware they had syphilis, so doctors could track the ravages of the illness and dissect their bodies afterward. (National Archives via AP, File) This image made available by the U.S. National Archives shows part of a 1940-dated document describing procedures for the distribution of autopsy results from subjects of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted by the U.S. government. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for Black men who were unaware they had syphilis, so doctors could track the ravages of the illness and dissect their bodies afterward. (National Archives via AP) In this 1950's photo made available by the National Archives, a man included in a syphilis study has blood drawn in Alabama. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for Black men who were unaware they had syphilis, so doctors could track the ravages of the illness and dissect their bodies afterward. (National Archives via AP) This 1950's photo made available by the National Archives shows a man included in a syphilis study in Alabama. For 40 years starting in 1932, medical workers in the segregated South withheld treatment for Black men who were unaware they had syphilis, so doctors could track the ravages of the illness and dissect their bodies afterward. (National Archives via AP)