The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Dyed HeLa cells

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot
Edition Published February 2010


In an unmarked grave, lies Henrietta Lacks, whose cells have made monumental contributions to science, but not without controversy.

In 1951, a young black woman named Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer leaving five children behind.  Yet, cancer cells taken from her body (named HeLa cells) live on and have almost single-handedly revolutionized cellular science and the pharmaceutical industry.

While Skloot's book does cover the science aspects of HeLa cells, it is mainly a quest to get to know Henrietta Lacks and her other contributions to the world, namely her children. A memoir of Skloot's quest to delve deeper into the story, the book is unlike anything I have ever read before.  I opened it expecting one thing, and found myself confronted with a reality I never conceived.  For me, the book explored the mother-daughter bond and the heart wrenching tale of a black woman trying to feel connected to a mom she couldn't remember and yearned so desperately for.

Cells, once removed from the body become the property of the scientist/doctor conducting the research.  As such the Lacks Family has not benefited financially from the HeLa revolution.  And although Skloot's book will not improve the day to day lives of Henrietta's children: she has set up a fund to provide for the educational needs of the Lacks' children.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone ready to conquer reality, in all its splendor and squalor.

 

We, Too, Are Americans

We, Too, Are Americans
 Megan Taylor Shockley
Copyright 2003



Caveat:  I am friends with Megan, so this "review" holds little merit, other than to record that I read the book.  :) I am a dork...  I will read historical non-fiction for the pure thrill of it all.  So it helps to have friends in high places.

We, Too, Are Americans discusses the organization of African American women to improve their socioeconomic status during WWII, specifically in Richmond, VA and Detroit, MI.  It helps the reader to create a picture of race relations in the 1940's by contrasting two cities on opposing sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

A well written and thorough treatise, the book explores an oft-forgotten segment of social history.  Many people, myself included, were unaware of the efforts of middle class African American Women to minimize the the inequalities between blacks and whites during the Jim Crowe Era.  But logically it was the ideal time to strike: America was in crisis and African Americans were working as hard on America's behalf.  For their effort, middle class black women lobbied for jobs and improved conditions through organizations such as sororities and other social groups.  Shockley's research shows how the stage was set for the Civil Rights Movement on the foundation created by the groups.