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Lacks #6 and Secondary #6

The two main things I have learned from this book is that, if you weren’t white, they who cares about you, and sometimes the greater good overpowers all. In the first part of that, Henrietta was treated horribly because of the color of her skin. She was not given proper medical treatment, credit for her importance in the medical field, and the overall treatment of African Americans was just awful. When I say that the greater good overpowers all, it is when Henrietta isn’t getting the correct treatment for her symptoms, but then ends up dying and having her cells spread across the world. Why the doctors were allowed to do this, I don’t know. But all I know is that  that is unjust and should not be accepted in society.

Something that surprised me in the reading process was how unknown her story was, especially by the peers of her time. Today, on the other hand, she is well known as one of the most important people in terms of modern medicine. This source is from Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was the hospital that cared for her while she dealt with her cancer. It talks about the legacy of Henrietta Lacks, and how she affects today’s society. It also mentions how consent of patients is different today. I felt this source helps connect today’s knowledge to the past’s problems.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks 

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Lacks #5 and Secondary #5

On pages 246-247, Zakariyya(Joe Lacks) says, “Them doctors say her cells is so important and did all this and that to help people. But it didn’t do no good for her, and it don’t do no good for us. If me and my sister need something, we can’t even go see a doctor cause we can’t afford it. Only people that can get any good from my mother cells is the people that got money, and whoever sellin them cells-they get rich off our mother and we got nothing.” This quote stood out to me. It reminded me of how Henrietta’s kids have been forgotten, and how her story has been kept in the shadows. With the contribution she gave to society, its insane how doctor’s could not give her credit. Now through examining this information, I have come to the conclusion on way this is. It is because of the color of her skin. If she was a middle class white man, there is no doubt in my mind that the doctors would have credited that man and gave benefits to his family. Another possible explanation could be because of their social class. Since they are very poor, they didn’t care who these poor nobody's were, and didn’t really feel the need too.

I found this poem and there was this line that stood out to me. It said, “ Removed our shine..turning us into hidden treasures.” This poem titled, “Race Does Not Exist”, and this quote relates exactly back to what I think of when it comes to Henrietta Lacks. When the author said, “Removed our shine”, that relates to how the story of the Lacks’ has been almost removed from history until someone brought it up around 60 years later. The second part, “turning us into hidden treasures”, makes me think about how Henrietta’s cancer was turned into a vital part in many cures to many diseases. 

https://www.powerpoetry.org/poems/race-does-not-exist 

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Lacks #4 and Secondary #4

 The Lacks family was treated very poorly in the fact that they had no idea what was going on with her mother’s cells. It was only revealed in chapter 23 when Bobbette is talking to Gardenia’s brother-in-law, and he said that he’d been working on these HeLa cells. A main reason that the Lacks’ were kept in the dark about this was because of the color of their skin. The Lacks’ had no idea that this was going on until nearly 25 years later, and the scientists could care less about the feelings and the affect this could’ve had on the Lacks’. These white scientists thought that it was okay to test on this badly treated dead black women’s cells without the consent of the family is just wrong and unjust.

I’ve been digging in more deeply about the overall impact of the HeLa cells. They have been proven beneficial in the cures of diseases and even helped countries figure out if human cells could survive in space. Her cells have impacted society and the ways we look at modern medicine today.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/henrietta-lacks-immortal-cells-6421299/

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Lacks #3 and Secondary #3

When I reached Chapter 16, I realized how not just Henrietta was forgotten throughout history mainly because of the color of her skin. When scientists learned of these miracle cells, they had no idea on who they came from and didn’t really care to know. While these white scientists were getting all these awards and praise for these scientific discoveries, Lacks got no credit and her children got nothing for it. This has happened throughout history and too many people just because of their race, and it should not continue any longer.

These are just a few of those many people who have been forgotten throughout history because of the color of their skin. This relates to Lacks and how they suffered by the color of their skin.

https://www.biography.com/news/african-american-firsts-history

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Lacks #2 and Secondary #2

In Chapter 13, Lacks has recently passed away and scientists are doing research on the new HeLa cells. This chapter really showed me the importance of these cells. These cells helped cure one of the deadliest viruses in the history of the United States in the polio virus. These cells also helped scientists learn of how cells reproduce and how to send cells to a different part of the world without killing them.

Something that relates to the topic of Henrietta and her family being treated differently because of their race is the movie “42”. This movie tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player. It talks about the hardships he went through just because of the color of his skin.

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Lacks #1 and Secondary #1

From just the first 20 pages, I can see how much African Americans suffered from segregation. Whether it was from the colored only bathrooms and drinking fountains, to having to sleep in a barn next to the donkeys after traveling. Not to mention they had to drive miles out of their way to get to Johns Hopkins Hospital, one of the only hospitals around that served black people. Their quality of life must have been just awful. 

This article shows the real darkness of Jim Crow laws, which were a big part in keeping segregation after slavery was abolished. It was hard for blacks to survive during these times, and only a few of the majority cared for it.

https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws

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I believe a very under appreciated form of art are comic books. They show stories not just through words, but also through their great drawings of characters. To me, a big part of art is being able to inspire, and that’s what comic books also do. Kids grow up wishing they can be Spider-Man, Batman, and the Hulk. You even see kids dressing up like those heroes on Halloween so they can be like them. Comics also were signs for something bigger. For example, Captain America was made to show a sign of hope during war. These books could be viewed as childish, but adults still read them to relive their childhood. Comic books not only are a form of art through their words and images, but also through the inspiration they give off.

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Radio is one of the most important parts of history and is definitely a piece of art. Radio was really the start of communication through distance. This original piece of technology went from winning countries wars to the phone you text on today. Radio helped bring news to throughout countries of hardships and success. Radio is art because of what it lead to. The radio is one of the reasons the world is where it is at today, and without it, who knows what could’ve happened with this world.

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Something that I like to consider art is hockey. Hockey has been a big part of my life and many other kids around the world. Something that is especially hard to do is a good breakaway move. In this clip, Pavel Datsyuk performs his famous flip as he placed an incredible move on Nashville Predators Goalie Tomas Vokoun. Datsyuk goes up to the goalie, toe drags the puck (which is when you bring the stick close to your feet and around) then just flips the puck into the top of the shelf. Datsyuk had many other great tricks and influences when it comes to hockey. Even during warmups I try to to it but it’s really hard to accomplish in the short amount of time you have from the time you start the move to when the goalie can get to you. Him pulling this move of was just simply incredible and was frankly just a piece of art.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lojqjMvAk

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To many in the world this is just a flag, but to most it is a sign of hope and opportunity. People dream of coming here dreaming of a fresh start because of how great this country is in giving people opputunities. People look up to this, dream of being here, also know as the American Dream. Going back to the country’s existence, America was a place to get away from the United Kingdom who “bullied” their citizens, and people heard of this new land with hope and opportunity for a better life. That’s why this is art. It’s a sign for hope and opportunity

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In this picture. American soldiers are planting a flag in WW2 while fighting the Japanese. War is something that happens, it just does. But when it does, it bring unity across nations and people see what really happens in this world. I think that is what this picture depicts. These soldiers are going through war, seeing their brothers being shot, seeing cities perish, but they never stop. They planted this flag to show their unity and respect for the nation which explains to me why this is art.

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To me this is art. Tyron Smith, number 77, makes a perfect block to allow the runner, Ezekiel Elliott, to get more yards than he would’ve if he didn’t do that. Even thought Eli Apple, number 24, is a lot smaller than Smith, it is still hard to block. Apple is clearly a lot shiftier and faster just based on size. Smith gets inside the arms of Apple and holds his shoulder pads just for a split second so the Giants corner couldn’t move. He then pushes Apple away from the play and making a perfect hole for the running back to get through. Tyron Smith is one of the premier offensive tackles in the NFL and you can clearly see why in this clip. As an offensive lineman, his perfect technique is something that I strive to do during games, which is why this is art to me. Art doesn’t have to be a painting, it can be whatever from a NFL block to a Picasso Sculpture. This is perfection and that is what art is, performing perfection through technics.

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What do I want from my education?

Throughout my entire lif I’ve been told to get good grades and I always wondered why? I know how smart I am no matter what score I got on my test. To be frank, all I want from my education is success and to make money. In today’s society money means everything. You can look even at the current president. A multibillionaire in Donald Trump won the presidential election with no political expierience. Money can buy you positions of power, happiness, and honestly it can bring you love. Money is what makes people nowadays and if my education can bring that, then that is the dream.

Another thing I want from my education is happiness. Money is a part of happiness but if my education can result in me getting my dream job, then I’d do whatever it takes.

Overall, Education can make or break people, and I’m just hoping it will make me.

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