Request for Presidential Apology/Investigation
I made a promise to my Cousin Beverly and I kept it because family love matters.
Since 2010, I’ve been researching the Rosenwald Fund Study. In 2011, I began my quest for a presidential apology and investigation for the PHS-conducted Rosenwald Fund Study. Precedents have been set for PHS-conducted studies. In 1997, President Clinton apologized for the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In 2010, President Obama apologized for the Guatemala Syphilis Inoculation Study and initiated an investigation. To date, the Rosenwald Fund Study subjects/descendants have yet to receive a presidential apology and investigation.
Research Summary
2011
Contacted the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethics and they recommended I send a request for an apology and investigation to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
2012
Communicated with Professor Susan Reverby (knowledgeable about Tuskegee Study and unearthed the Guatemala Study) and she provided a point of contact at the Center for Disease Control (CDC). CDC denied the apology and investigation on two claims: 1) the study was not an experimental research study, and 2) mercury does not have a congenital effect.
2013
United States became the 1st Party to sign the Minamata Convention on Mercury, an international treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emission and releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The MCM addresses the adverse health effects of mercury on women, children, and through them future generations.
2014
Requested a second apology and investigation from the CDC, and they denied it a second time. I sought assistance from the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) in Kenya, Africa.
2015
UNEP appointed a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Hazardous Substances and determined the Rosenwald Fund Study was a violation of civil and human rights.
2017
Prior to President Obama leaving office, I received a letter from him stating the CDC was prepared to readdress their claim on mercury and its congenital effect.
2018
Contacted the World Health Organization (previously League of Nations) requesting action and I have yet to hear back from them.
2019
Provided the CDC documented proof from the Rosenwald Fund Study Archives revealing the study was an experiment. Subsequently, a doctor from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry acknowledged in writing that mercury poisoning has a congenital effect; then the CDC blatantly denied that the Rosenwald Fund Study existed.
2020
Communicated with the Trump Administration and they failed to respond. Prior to leaving office Trump signed the Julius Rosenwald and the Rosenwald Schools Act of 2020.
2021
Senator Tim Kaine sent my formal request for a presidential apology and investigation to President Biden and his Administration. I received a computer-generated message failing to address the Study.
2022
The Center for Constitutional Rights published my interview on their podcast, Before Tuskegee: A Journey for Recognition.
2023
Contacted the National Academy of Science and they referred me to the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. My request for an apology/investigation has come full circle and I have yet to hear back from them since February.
My family and many other families need healing and restoration.
I’ll continue my fight for justice until justice prevails.