The Search for the Legacy of the USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee

Book excerpt: The Search for the Legacy of the USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee is a collection of essays that seeks to redefine the "legacy" of the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study in light of recent findings from other scientific studies that challenge the long-standing, widely-held understanding of the study. These essays are written with thoughtful attention to fully integrate the essayists' perspectives on the impact of the study on the lives of Americans today and place the legacy of the study within the evolving picture of racial and ethnic relations in the United States. Each essayist looks through his or her own personal and professional prism to give an account of what constitutes that legacy today. Contributors include the two leading historians of the Tuskeegee Syphilis Study and two former Surgeons General of the United States as well as other prominent scholars from the fields of public health, bioethics, psychology, biostatistics, medicine, dentistry, journalism, medical sociology, medical anthropology, and health disparities research.