Research Is (Not) a Bad Word

The withholding of treatment in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. 1 The misappropriation of human cells from Henrietta Lacks. 2,3Sterilization without consent of the Indigenous and those of Latin American descent. 4,5Growing up, I was taught that research was a means of harm for people with my skin color.I learned how the government tricked my ancestors, how researchers stole their bodies, and how the health care system lied to communities of color.Research was a bad word, and I wanted nothing to do with it.My goal was to serve by improving the health of historically marginalized communities like my own.I wanted to be a face that could be trusted.Research was not for people who looked like me.