AMERICA’S MEDICAL FOUNDATION: BUILT ON THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF BLACK WOMEN...
America praises its medical system as advanced and lifesaving. But behind the white coats and clean hospital walls lies a foundation soaked in the suffering of Black women. This is not an exaggeration. It is history—ugly, brutal, and undeniable.
From the days of slavery onward, Black women were used as test subjects without their consent. Their bodies were opened, cut, and probed in ways that stripped them of dignity and humanity. No anesthesia. No compassion. No care. Just cold experiments carried out on women who had no choice but to endure the pain.
The truth is this: America’s medical foundation was not built on compassion but on cruelty. The advancements celebrated today came at the cost of countless Black women’s lives, health, and dignity. These women were seen not as people, but as tools—property to be used, discarded, and forgotten.
We cannot turn away from this reality. To understand why health care in America continues to fail the Black community, we must trace it back to its rotten roots. We must look at the practices that treated our women like animals, or worse, and recognize how that legacy still lives in the system today.
This writing is not just about exposing history—it is about holding truth to power. Because until we confront the foundation of medical racism, we will never dismantle the walls it has built around our survival.
The Exploitation of Enslaved Black Women
During slavery, Black women were forced into the role of medical experiments. Doctors cut into their bodies to “study” the female reproductive system. They called it science. In reality, it was torture. These women were denied painkillers, because the lie was that Black people did not feel pain the way whites did. This was not ignorance—it was justification for cruelty.
Women endured surgeries while fully conscious, screaming, bleeding, and broken. Their suffering became the stepping stone for medical “discoveries” that white society would later benefit from. But the women themselves were left with scars, infections, and lifelong suffering.
Treated Worse Than Animals
Even animals were given more care than Black women. Livestock was valuable to the enslavers, but the enslaved Black woman was seen as both property and experiment. She could be cut open, used, and discarded without consequence.
The very organs that made her unique as a woman became the target of abuse. Her womb, her reproductive system, her body—these were not respected. They were invaded, violated, and reduced to experiments for the so-called progress of medicine.
Saartjie Baartman: A Case of Human Curiosity
One of the most infamous examples was Saartjie Baartman, a woman taken from South Africa because of her distinct body shape. Her large hips and derriere made her an object of ridicule and fascination in Europe. She was displayed like a sideshow attraction, stripped of dignity, studied like an animal.
When she died, her body was not even laid to rest. Scientists cut her apart, preserved her remains, and displayed them in museums. This shows the depth of inhumanity—the Black woman was not seen as a human being, but as a specimen to be owned, dissected, and mocked.
The Lies of Medical Science
Doctors claimed these experiments were necessary for science. They claimed Black women were stronger, could endure more pain, and were less deserving of comfort. These lies were passed down as medical fact. They shaped policies, practices, and attitudes that still linger today.
The truth is clear: Black women were the foundation for America’s medical advancement, but they were never meant to benefit from it. Their bodies were used, but their humanity was denied.
The Legacy in Modern Medicine
This history is not dead—it echoes in today’s hospitals. Studies show that Black women are still less likely to receive proper pain medication. Their concerns are often dismissed. Their symptoms ignored. Black mothers are more likely to die during childbirth compared to white mothers, even when income and education are the same.
The medical racism of yesterday laid the blueprint for the inequalities of today. The system has always been stacked against Black women, and the echoes of slavery still shape their health outcomes.
The Strength of Black Women
Despite the cruelty, Black women survived. They endured what no one should endure. Their strength became the foundation not only of medical knowledge but also of our community’s resilience. They carried trauma in their bodies but passed down courage through their spirits.
The survival of Black women is not just a story of suffering. It is also a story of defiance. Every scar they carried was proof of endurance. Every injustice they lived through was a seed of resistance that fuels our demand for justice today.
The foundation of American medicine was built on the bodies of Black women. Their pain was silenced. Their humanity was denied. But their truth cannot be erased.
We must tell their stories, not to reopen wounds but to heal by exposing the root of the disease. To ignore this history is to allow its poison to continue spreading in the present.
The health disparities we see today are not accidents. They are the legacy of a system born from exploitation. Black women’s cries were ignored then, and too often, they are ignored now. This must change.
As a community, we must demand accountability, justice, and equality in health care. We cannot let the sacrifices of those women be forgotten. Their suffering was not in vain if it fuels our fight for dignity and respect today.
America’s medical foundation is cracked, poisoned, and unjust. But by exposing its inhumane roots, we can begin to build a new one—one that honors the humanity of Black women and ensures that never again will our community’s survival be traded for someone else’s progress.
