What motivated Pattillo to organize the Hela Cancer Control Symposium was the fact that he had a sense of pride in him for her. “He’d wanted to honor her contributions to science ever since” (Skloot 219). He wanted to honor her for her contributions; because of her science had advanced in so many ways. Because of the discovery of her cells they were able to find some causes of cervical cancer. Because of this Deborah’s family became famous and they were treated like celebrities. People were beginning to know them and show a sense of respect. It only took one person’s hope to give courage to Deborah to say her speech. If it wasn’t for Pattilo’s motivation Deborah and her family would still be afraid to openly talk about their mother. All they needed was for someone to take their side, so that they could also connect with their mother. It’s great to know that even though Patillo had grown up in a segregated town, he didn’t have any racial inequalities with Henrietta and her family. Maybe if someone else was in his place he/she wouldn’t have ever honored Henrietta, because they would’ve had this thought that she is African American and that she shouldn’t be honored because of her skin color. Pattilo has showed that no matter what a person’s religion or skin color is, they should be treated equally and respected for their contributions to our society.
Although Pattillo says that he organized the HeLa Cancer Control Symposium “to honor her contributions to science” (Skloot, 2010), I personal think that he pitied Henrietta and her family. Her family is poor and living in an unsafe environment. Henrietta was robbed and used as a money making machine. Pattillo probably felt like he, being a “postdoctoral fellow in Gey’s lab” (Skloot, 2010), had to do something to make Henrietta’s intermediate family feel better because no one else was. He may have had good intentions but, in the end, the only reason why he got his name in a book is because he, too, is using Henrietta.
Yes, there are recent activities to honor Henrietta and her family. About two years, a high school had set aside a day to celebrate Henrietta’s life. They were asked to wear red because, the doctor’s lab assistant, Mary was sent to collect a sample to Henrietta’s cells at the hospital. When Mary saw Henrietta’s toenails they were painted with red nail polish and she felt really bad that they had taken cells from a women who was alive at one time and possibly painting her nails. Also the National Institutes of Health had announced in Nature that they have the access to the whole genome data of cells from her tumor. Henrietta’s family are also getting honored because they are beginning to provide more significant information about Henrietta which is helping doctors to advance their research. It’s really nice to see that people have knowledge about this and are honoring Henrietta and her family for their contributions. Doctors are even working with her family to come up with new policies to advance science. Collins, F. (2013, August 7). NIH, Lacks family reach understanding to share genomic data of HeLa cells. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2013/nih-07.htm McCullough, D. (2013, September 30). Honor Henrietta Lacks. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.tolerance.org/blog/honor-henrietta-lacks
What motivated Pattillo to organize the Hela Cancer Control Symposium was the fact that he had a sense of pride in him for her. “He’d wanted to honor her contributions to science ever since” (Skloot 219). He wanted to honor her for her contributions; because of her science had advanced in so many ways. Because of the discovery of her cells they were able to find some causes of cervical cancer. Because of this Deborah’s family became famous and they were treated like celebrities. People were beginning to know them and show a sense of respect. It only took one person’s hope to give courage to Deborah to say her speech. If it wasn’t for Pattilo’s motivation Deborah and her family would still be afraid to openly talk about their mother. All they needed was for someone to take their side, so that they could also connect with their mother. It’s great to know that even though Patillo had grown up in a segregated town, he didn’t have any racial inequalities with Henrietta and her family. Maybe if someone else was in his place he/she wouldn’t have ever honored Henrietta, because they would’ve had this thought that she is African American and that she shouldn’t be honored because of her skin color. Pattilo has showed that no matter what a person’s religion or skin color is, they should be treated equally and respected for their contributions to our society.
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DeleteAlthough Pattillo says that he organized the HeLa Cancer Control Symposium “to honor her contributions to science” (Skloot, 2010), I personal think that he pitied Henrietta and her family. Her family is poor and living in an unsafe environment. Henrietta was robbed and used as a money making machine. Pattillo probably felt like he, being a “postdoctoral fellow in Gey’s lab” (Skloot, 2010), had to do something to make Henrietta’s intermediate family feel better because no one else was. He may have had good intentions but, in the end, the only reason why he got his name in a book is because he, too, is using Henrietta.
DeleteHi Sindarvani, are there any recent activities to honor Henrietta Lacks and her family?
ReplyDeleteYes, there are recent activities to honor Henrietta and her family. About two years, a high school had set aside a day to celebrate Henrietta’s life. They were asked to wear red because, the doctor’s lab assistant, Mary was sent to collect a sample to Henrietta’s cells at the hospital. When Mary saw Henrietta’s toenails they were painted with red nail polish and she felt really bad that they had taken cells from a women who was alive at one time and possibly painting her nails. Also the National Institutes of Health had announced in Nature that they have the access to the whole genome data of cells from her tumor. Henrietta’s family are also getting honored because they are beginning to provide more significant information about Henrietta which is helping doctors to advance their research. It’s really nice to see that people have knowledge about this and are honoring Henrietta and her family for their contributions. Doctors are even working with her family to come up with new policies to advance science.
DeleteCollins, F. (2013, August 7). NIH, Lacks family reach understanding to share genomic data of HeLa cells. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2013/nih-07.htm
McCullough, D. (2013, September 30). Honor Henrietta Lacks. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from http://www.tolerance.org/blog/honor-henrietta-lacks