Al Sharpton should be ashamed of himself. On his MSNBC show on Saturday night, Sharpton said that once a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, black leaders will need to be:

“convinced ourselves that the vaccine is fine to take or that it is not something that we’ve experienced in our own history in the black community like the Tuskegee experiment.”

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Sharpton was referring to the infamous Tuskegee study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service from 1932 to1972, in which black men were left untreated for syphilis despite being assured that they were being treated.  Four hundred of the group had syphilis and never received deliberate treatment for the venereal disease.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin fed Sharpton’s paranoia, saying, “you’re right, reverend. The city of Birmingham is not too far from Tuskegee. And 2020 is not too far from the history of the Tuskegee experiment, where we know when you speed up [inaudible], there’s mistrust, there’s no trust, there’s distrust.”

It is outrageous that Sharpton, without the smallest scintilla of evidence, would float such a paranoid conspiracy theory. The result will be to foster distrust among black Americans, leading to many avoidable infections and deaths. 

Here’s the transcript.

MSNBC
Politics Nation
11/21/20
5:19 pm ET
 
AL SHARPTON: Now, you have — and many in elected office, and many of us that are not that have public platforms, have the dual problem of, one, making sure that if a vaccine does come about, that it is distributed in areas that have — desert areas when it comes to health services.

And, convincing a lot of people in the community, once we’re convinced ourselves, that the vaccine is fine to take or that it is not something that we’ve experienced in our own history in the black community like the Tuskegee experiment. So on one hand, we got to know that this is real, and that it is something that is something we could endorse for people to take, and then we have to make sure it’s available, which gives you a double problem that many mayors will not have to face in this country.

RANDALL WOODFIN: This is a problem I’m ready to take on because it’s going to require leadership. You’re right, reverend. The city of Birmingham is not too far from Tuskegee. And 2020 is not too far from the history of the Tuskegee experiment, where we know when you speed up [inaudible], there’s mistrust, there’s no trust, there’s distrust.