We are pleased to spotlight Henrietta Lacks in day four of our first annual 28 Days of Little Known Facts About (Black) American History
Henrietta Lacks is the most important women in medical history.
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor woman with a middle-school education, made one of the greatest medical contributions ever. Her cells, taken from a cervical-cancer biopsy, became the first immortal human cell line—the cells reproduce infinitely in a lab. Although other immortal lines have since been established, Lacks’s “HeLa” cells are the standard in labs around the world. Her cells were take without her consent and she nor her family have been compensated for their historic contributions to modern medicine.
The medial and scientific contributions of blacks and people of color have gone unspoken and ignored by media and most textbooks.
Learn more about Henrietta Lacks and her cells here
Source: Popular Science
About The 28 Day Campaign
This informational campaign: 28 Days of Little Known Facts About Black American History will see 540Blog share little known facts about Black Americans throughout history every day throughout the month of February. Those that were groundbreaking and history making but do not necessarily get the media attention and coverage.
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