Medical racism throughout history, briefly summarized.

The systemic racism that has been embedded in American institutions has long robbed Black people of their dignity, even in death. The final resting place of Black Americans has been tainted by the inhumane and racist actions of grave robbers and medical practitioners creating a dark history of the theft of Black bodies.

The Targeting of Black Graveyards

Families have been forced to endure the unending trauma of discovering their loved ones’ final resting place has been desecrated. Graveyard diggers were often employed to exhume and remove Black people’s bodies without informing their families for the sake of medical research and studies.

Harriet Washington, author of the book “Medical Apartheid,” noted that Black graveyards were regularly targeted for their unmarked graves. Dr. John D. Goodman, a former anatomy professor at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote about paying the manager of a public graveyard in Philadelphia in 1829 “for the privilege of ‘emptying the pits’ of about 50 to 85 cadavers a month during each ‘dissection season.’” This was just one example of the numerous acts of grave robbing that were carried out on Black cemeteries, and it took place without any consideration of the agony it caused the Black communities mourning their loved ones.

The Horrors of Body Snatching

Bodies were typically exhumed during the cooler months to align with the academic year. Washington wrote that historian Todd Savitt said Black people were well aware of the grave robbery that occurred, as evidenced by one elderly, enslaved Virginia woman who once said: “Please God, I hope when I die, it’ll be summertime.”

These heinous acts happened across the United States, and it is impossible to quantify how many Black bodies were exhumed without the knowledge or consent of those who love them. The exploitation of Black bodies for medical research was a rampant practice that continued until the Civil Rights Movement. The abuses of Black bodies in medical research were particularly egregious, including testing that included inadequate medical treatment, surgical and chemical experimentation without anesthesia, and invasive procedures carried out without consent.

Honoring the Dignity of Black Bodies

The past horrors that were perpetuated upon Black Americans have left a legacy of generational trauma. It is incumbent upon us to acknowledge these injustices and to work to undo the harm that has been done. One way to do this is to honor the dignity of Black bodies in death by acknowledging the harm that was done and working to restore the cemeteries, markers, and gravestones that were removed, as well as acknowledging the value of Black life. Work must be done to ensure that the final resting place of all Americans is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, regardless of their race or ethnicity.