HENRIETTA LACKS: WAS ONLY GOOD FOR HER CELLS BUT NOT WORTHY OF MENTION.

ICHEOKU says but for the World Health Organization bestowing her an otherwise overdue recognition for being the source code of medical and scientific breakthroughs which has helped millions of cervical cancer patients, many people including this writer would never have heard that a black woman named Henrietta Lacks once walked this earth. But she had cervical cancer and while undergoing treatment in Washington DC in 1953, her cervical cells were secretly harvested and used in developing many vaccines and modeled treatments and management of cervical cancer as well as other diseases. 

As a result, millions of women's lives have been saved and still being saved; many scientific medical breakthroughs were recorded including discovering the human papilloma virus (HPV) and polio vaccines, drugs for Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) treatment and cancer. Her cells are also aiding the COVID-19 research. But America refused to acknowledge her nor gave her, her rightfully earned place in the annals of history for her role in unearthing these discoveries and palliatives. But ICHEOKU is not surprised, as her case was just one of such examples where black Americans contributions to humanity were intentionally played down and suppressed lest they will become full bona fide human beings with awesome mental quotients. 

It followed a pattern which continuously diminished and minimized black Americans contribution in American history, including so many inventions of theirs that were either outrightly hijacked or passed off and named after white men as black people were not good enough to invent anything or contribute any meaningful tangible thing to humanity's wellbeing. Speaking about such keep them hidden syndrome and the real McCoy and his oil filter, the traffic light and refrigerated trucks come to mind, including other sundry inventions which black people brought about but which they were not given credit for, until very recently.

It was the same story with white slave masters who constantly slept with black women slaves including the wives of their slaves; and fathered a lot of children with them but refused to acknowledge their paternity. Instead they were forbidden under penalty of extreme torture and punishment, including sale, indentured servitude and lynching by hanging from ever speaking a word about their dirty liaisons. Even the late South Carolina Senator Strum Thurmond had such illicit relationship which resulted in an unacknowledged child who remained incognito until the good ole boy passed away at 100 years old in 2003. 

The daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams died at 87 years in 2013 and for her 70 years on this earth kept the senator's secret secret. It is their thing, the code of co-existence to "never be seen or loudly heard outside", the "know your place" racial hierarchy in America which somewhat still prevails till today, admitted in more subtle forms.

By honoring Henrietta Lacks, WHO has somewhat ameliorated some wrong done to her and her family, first by stealing her cells and second, by not acknowledging her for all the inroads made finding cures for so many diseases through her cells. WHO should take further step by endowing a chair in her name in a medical research institution and that way help to immortalize her. Her surviving family deserves substantial compensation and profit sharing from all the drugs developed from using her cells. It is not enough to just give a plaque or certificate of recognition, more needs to be done including making a real cash compensation. Companies making fortune from her cells need to also pony up for all their major breakthroughs

Paying compensation to her family or establishing an endowment in her name will be a more tangible way to really honor her, advance racial equity in health and science and truly recognize women, particularly women of color for their incredible contribution to medical science. She saved countless lives and her immortal cell line, HeLa cells, are still saving countless lives today and will continue to save countless lives long into the future. HPV and Polio vaccines, drugs for HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, Parkinson syndrome disease, in-vitro fertilization, cancer, gene mapping, research on chromosomal conditions and other precision medicine are all good tidings which emanated from her cells. 

So what else can anyone ask of anybody, especially someone who has contributed this so much to humanity's betterment and general wellness. A woman whose cells became the first human cell line to ever reproduce and replicate outside the human body. What an indelible historical record; an honor which have earned etching her name in immorality. Imagine if she were a white blondie, but unfortunately she was of the "wrong" skin color, hence the need to suppressed her name and not let the world of women particularly white women, beneficiaries of her cells scientific endeavors, know that it was a black woman whose cells helped save their lives. 

It is sad that the effect of slavery and racial injustices in America lingers on til this day and you ask yourself, what will it take to finally rest that ugly chapter in America's life. Will there ever be an apology for the horrors of slavery and will there ever be compensation or what is termed reparation for the harm caused by slavery. Its other resulting injustices such as the story of Henrietta Lacks should tug at our conscience in speeding up the recompense. But it is doubtful if it will happen right now because the nation has lived with it for so long that they have literally acquiesced in it. Hopefully, progressivism will some day force a different outcome. What a woman and her wondrous gift to humanity.