The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Lesson Plan

What is the significance of using the Tuskegee Institute as the HeLa distribution center for the testing of the polio vaccine?

The Tuskegee Institute was a prestigious black university, and black scientists and technicians were the ones who worked with the HeLa cells so necessary for the development of the vaccine. Segregation and racism were still a signifiant problem in all of the US, as racism continues to be, and to think that the work of black researchers and the cells of a black woman were what saved so many lives could be considered very empowering. At the same time, the Tuskegee Institute is best remembered today for being the site of horribly unethical syphilis...