New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Educator pens poem about woman whose ‘cells changed the world’
NEW HAVEN — A local educator’s poem about a woman whose unique cells changed the history of medicine without her ever knowing about it, was read by him at the kickoff of an international, yearlong celebration of what would have been her 100 birthday year.
Henrietta Lacks’ “cells changed the world, but she hasn’t been credited the way she should be,” said poet Frank E. Brady, who described his work as a longtime educational consultant on emotional intelligence and emotional and social learning.
“For me it just came naturally because I often
try to honor women and Henrietta Lacks represents the strength of a Black woman,” Brady said.
In 1951, Lacks, a mother of five who suffered from cervical cancer, had tissue taken from her tumor before she died and they had a unique ability to keep reproducing. Hers were the first human cells to be successfully cloned and have reproduced infinitely since, making “HeLa cells” as they are called, a cornerstone of modern medicine. History says her cells have enabled countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 vaccines.
Maya Doyle, a Quinnipiac University professor of social work, has said Lacks’ cells were taken without her permission.
Those cells have been replicated thousands of times, according to Doyle, who has cited Lacks’ story as “another example of taking advantage and using people of color as part of experiments without their knowledge and consent.”
Lacks’ cells were harvested and developed before the advent of consent procedures used in medicine and scientific research today; her estate earlier this month filed suit against a biotechnology company, accusing it of selling cells that doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital took from Lacks without her knowledge or consent as part of “a racially unjust medical system,” according to The Associated Press. A lawyer on the team promised more lawsuits would follow.
Brady was commissioned by The IRIS Collaborative in Washington, D.C., to write the poem for a virtual celebration commemorating 70 years since Henrietta Lacks’ HeLa cells changed
the world and what would have been her 100th birth year. As part of the HELA100 celebration, a bronze statue of Lacks was unveiled at University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
Brady read the poem aloud during the celebration, which included many of Lacks’ relatives.
With the repeated phrase, “Say her name,” Brady’s poem talks about her legacy, how her cells have helped the world, and about equity.
One portion of the poem reads:
“Do you know what it feels like
for your name to silenced. Its violence. Your contributions to be a myth, when it should be a legacy
“Say her name. Henrietta Lacks. No longer will we let it be.
“These are the facts.”
Another powerful portion the poem reads:
“Louder then the history that’s been edited. Say Her name. … Equity is a black woman her cells given there roses without the thorns long after she’s here to receive them…”
Brady said Lacks deserves “justice” and “recognition.”
As part of her cells’ legacy, some who couldn’t get pregnant on their own became mothers,
he said.
The impact of her cells used in research, vaccines and other medical arenas is “incalculable,” Brady said.
His poem says, “The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks is a timeless turntable that keeps the world spinning.”
Johns Hopkins, where Lacks was brought for diagnosis, said it never sold or profited from the cell lines, but many companies have patented ways of using them, according to the AP. One of the family’s attorneys, Ben Crump, said these distributors have made billions from the
genetic material taken from Lacks’ body, the AP has reported.
HeLa cells were discovered to have unique properties, the AP reported. While most cell samples died shortly after being removed from the body, her cells survived and thrived in laboratories. This exceptional quality made it possible to cultivate her cells indefinitely — they became known as the first immortalized human cell line — making it possible for scientists anywhere to reproduce studies using identical cells, the AP reported.