Miss Evers' Boys (1997)

great!

I was impressed and pleased with the speed of delivery and the quality of the product. May 9, 2008

Miss Evers Boys

I enjoyed it tremendously. (You'll have to watch out that it doesn't depress you). However, I found it to be noteworthy as it was historical and shed a bit of light on a situation that maybe some did not know ever existed. I would have liked it if the story would have dealt more with the government's ivolvement with the Tuskegee Project in preventing medicine to be given to the black men that were unknowingly used for this experiment. This story focused more on Miss Ever's commitment to the men, instead of the government's decision that these human beings were expendable. Excellent acting by Alfred Woodard & Laurence Fisburne. April 9, 2008

Follows Historical Details

I had to be involved in a debate for school about the Tuskegee Incident. This video seems to follow history fairly accurately, unlike some of Hollywood's other 'based on real life' stories. March 30, 2008

Every race responds to disease in the same manner

Unfortunately, the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphillis in the Negro Male", which began in 1932 in Alabama, is strong proof that clinical studies were not created equal. In this experiment, poor African American males were not treated for syphillis and not told of their true condition.

When penicillin became available as a treatment, the subjects were not afforded the option of getting the shots. (NOTE: Depending on the stage of syphillis, penicillin may not be a safe treatment option)

As a result of unethical treatment on the part of the experimenters in this study, the US National Health Investigation Board was developed in 1979. This board promulgated Institutional Review Boards and ethical guidelines for the conduct of clinical research studies. None of the clinical staff of this study faced any criminal charges.

"Miss Evers Boys" is a made for television dramatization of the Tuskegee Study from the point of view of Nurse Eunice Evers (Woodard).

The film details the RN's enthusiastic enlistment into the study because she believed The New Deal was for everyone and was going to help African Americans.

According to the film, the original study offered treatment for syphillis patients--who were told they had 'bad blood' because the doctors believed most of the men would not understand the physiology of their disease.

Later, when treatment funds dried up, researchers were encouraged by the National Health Service to continue the study to determine the effects of the disease. At the time, they believed that monies for treatment would be available within six months to a year, tops. The experimenters were depicted as sympathetic and trapped in an unfortunate situation. The Congressional Hearing panel who conducted the expository hearings on this study apparently felt similarly because no researchers were charged with cruelty regarding this study.

The film is an excellent study in medical ethics. It's impossible to watch this movie without tears in your eyes and anger in your heart. I believe "Miss Evers Boys" would be a good education for students of Black History as well as medicine, nursing, and ethics. March 16, 2008

Miss Evers was not a victim of the white establishment

"Miss Evers Boys" is very difficult to watch. At times, you may have to stop the movie to regain your composure. One scene in particular shows a victim screaming in awful pain. This HBO made for TV story is too sympathetic towards Miss Eunice Evers. As matter of fact, it goes so far as to hint that she was a victim of the white establishment. Nothing could be further from the truth. The woman was truly a vile human being. She freely chose to betray her friends and neighbors infected with syphilis. Her constantly reiterated rationalization that "the doctors know best" is laughable to say the least. At the end, we learn there were never any indictments handed down regarding these Nazi like experiments. Why weren't Miss Evers and Dr. Broadus arrested? Was it because it might damage the politically correct narrative describing them as victims? July 26, 2007

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