Draft:Obscure Historical Violence Against Black Americans

The history of violence against black people in America is a deeply troubling and complex narrative that spans centuries. It consists of systemic oppression, racial hatred, and the struggle for civil rights and social justice. This violence has taken many forms, from the horrors of slavery and lynching during the Jim Crow era to more recent manifestations of police brutality and racial discrimination.

The origins of violence against black people in America are traced back to the institution of slavery, where Africans were forcibly brought to the continent and subjected to inhumane conditions, physical abuse, and forced labor. Though abolished in 1865, the affects of slavery persists, as black people continue to face violence and discrimination. America's history of violence against black people is a sobering reminder of the deeply rooted racism that stains the nation's past and continues to influence its present. Understanding this history is a crucial factor for addressing ongoing issues of racial inequality and injustice and working toward a more equitable and inclusive society.

Incidents of violence during Civil Rights Era

The era of Reconstruction following the Civil War offered hope for progress, but it was short-lived, as the rise of Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation and discrimination. Lynching, a particularly gruesome form of violence, became a horrifyingly common practice, often involving large crowds and public spectacles. Picnics were typically used to mediate such violence.

Picnics. Developed by the French in the 17th century, refers to a meal being shared outdoors amongst a group of individuals. However, the implementation of picnics took a violent discriminatory adaptation in the United States. The term "picnic lynching" was born. Picnic lynching stems from the fact that these lynchings were often treated as leisure activities, with families bringing food, posing for photographs, and even collecting body parts as gruesome souvenirs. This macabre aspect of picnic lynchings highlights the dehumanization of the victims and the normalization of racial violence within society. Picnic lynchings during the Jim Crow era reflected the extreme racial violence and discrimination of the time. These incidents typically involved the brutal public killing of African Americans by white mobs, often as a form of entertainment and social gathering. Picnic lynchings were characterized by their gruesome nature, with crowds of white spectators, including women and children, attending these events.

The underlying causes of these atrocities were deeply rooted in the racial segregation, discrimination, and white supremacy of the Jim Crow era of United States History. African Americans were subjected to systemic oppression, denied their civil rights, and often targeted by vigilante groups and mobs. Around 4,000 African-Americans citizens were killed between 1882 and 1962 by lynching in settings that are appropriately described as picnic-like. The lack of legal protection and the complicity of law enforcement and the judicial system further exacerbated the violence.

Picnic lynchings were not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of racial terror that aimed to maintain white dominance and intimidate African Americans. The legacy of these events continues to haunt the United States, underscoring the urgent need for acknowledgment, education, and efforts to address historical and ongoing racial injustice.

Inhumane Clinical Trials

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, is a notorious example of unethical medical research conducted on African Americans within the United States. This study was initiated by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972; it focused on investigating the natural progression of untreated syphilis. The researchers aimed to comprehend the long-term effects of the disease, especially its impact on various organs and tissues, without administering proper treatment. The study specifically targeted 600 African American men in Macon County, Alabama, reflecting racial bias. The participants were predominantly poor and lacked access to adequate healthcare, making them vulnerable to exploitation. The ethical violations in the Tuskegee Experiment were profound. Participants were misled about the true nature of the study, denied informed consent, and were actively denied treatment that could have cured them. The study, initially intended to last six months, persisted for 40 years, causing severe health complications and, in some cases, death among the subjects.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study displayed a discriminatory and violent nature against black men in several egregious ways. The violence in the study was both direct and indirect. The participants were subjected to the violence of untreated syphilis, a potentially debilitating and deadly disease. Despite the availability of a known cure, penicillin, researchers deliberately withheld treatment from the participants, allowing the disease to progress unchecked. This decision resulted in severe health consequences, including organ damage, neurological issues, and, in some cases, death. Moreover, the researchers deceived the participants about the true nature of the study, denying them informed consent. The men were led to believe they were receiving free healthcare, while, in reality, they were unwitting subjects in an experiment. This deception violated their autonomy and subjected them to the violence of medical exploitation.

The discriminatory and racist underpinnings of the Tuskegee Study were also evident in the lack of regard for the participants' lives, as evidenced by their callous decision to withhold treatment even when a cure was available in the 1940s, allowing the disease to progress unchecked. “It was important that they were supposedly untreated, and it would be undesirable to go ahead and use large amounts of penicillin to treat the disease, because you’d interfere with the study,” stated Dr. Cutler, a researcher from the Tuskegee Experiment. The researchers perpetuate harmful views surrounding the perceived expendability of black lives and the negligence of wellbeing.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was unethical, discriminatory and it was violent through the intentional withholding of treatment, deception, and the disregard for the well-being and lives of the participants. The study breached the relationship between black people and the health care system in America, and the impact on the black community was extensive and enduring. The experiment shattered trust in the medical establishment, leading to widespread skepticism and reluctance to participate in medical research. This distrust, often referred to as the "Tuskegee effect," contributes to healthcare disparities as some African Americans are hesitant to seek medical care or participate in clinical trials due to historical abuses. It eroded trust in medical research and influenced healthcare decisions for decades. The ethical breaches in this study underscore the need for stringent safeguards to prevent the exploitation and harm of vulnerable populations in medical research; it serves as a stark reminder of the ethical responsibilities inherent in scientific investigations and the need to prioritize the well-being and dignity of all research participants.