Friday, December 19, 2014
Part III- Chapter 23-38: Question 13
Carefully read the speech Deborah gave at Morehouse College, paying particular attention to her repetition of the word "understanding". Why do you think understanding HeLa was so important to Deborah? What obstacles does she mention as impeding her understanding?
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ReplyDeleteHeLa was so important to Deborah because she has no memories of her mother. Henrietta died when Deborah was a baby, so Deborah never had the luxury of talking with her mother or learning things from her mother or other simple things most daughters take for granted. Therefore, she decided to learn as much as she could about cells to better understand the research conducted on the HeLa cells: “she got herself some basic science textbooks, a good dictionary, and a journal she’d use to copy passage after passage from biology textbooks” (Skloot, 2011, p. 195). Deborah has many unanswered questions about her mother, such who she was, what she was like, what her favorite color was, et cetera. Deborah believes that by understanding the HeLa cells and the advancements they have helped create in science and the medical field she will create a connection to her mother. Deborah did not know much about the HeLa research because she did not know “who to go to for understanding. No one from the medical field took the time” (Skloot, 2011, 221) to inform the Lacks family about the HeLa research. Deborah desperately wanted to know more about her mother and her cells, but she did not know who to ask. Day only told Deborah that “‘Her [mother’s] name was Henrietta Lacks, and [Henrietta] died when [Deborah] was too young to remember’” (Skloot, 2011, p. 117). When Roland Pattillo wanted to create a “conference [regarding HeLa’s contribution to science] and the official naming of Henrietta Lacks Day, [Deborah] was ecstatic: finally, a scientist was honoring her mother” (Skloot, 2011, p. 219). This was a wish come true for Deborah; now she and the rest of the nation would learn more about who Henrietta was and where her family is now.
ReplyDeleteSkloot, R. (2011). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks.
Hi Julieta, do you think it is important for the world to know who Henrietta really was? Why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI believe it is important for the world to know who Henrietta really was because it would have given the world a human connection to the HeLa cells. The world would realize that the HeLa cells were not genetically manufactured in a lab, rather they came from an ordinary black woman who went about her daily life like everyone else. After all, everyone knew about the cells and their contributions, but Henrietta was only recently “getting the recognition” (Skloot, 2011, p. 221) for unintentionally providing her cells to science. Henrietta deserves credit for her cells even if she did not know what was going on. Everyone knows HeLa’s scientific history, so they should know Henrietta’s history as well. Henrietta’s background would give people an idea of who she was exactly.
ReplyDeleteSkloot, R. (2011). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Paperbacks.