Tuskegee is the one-word answer some people give as to why they’re avoiding COVID-19 vaccines. The Tuskegee explanation is in reference to the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study that was conducted in Tuskegee, Alabama, from 1932-’72 by the U.S. government. During the study, more than 600 Black men were made to believe that they were receiving free medical care–when they, in fact, were not receiving treatment. More than a hundred men died from syphilis or its complications by the end of the study. The Tuskegee Study continues to have an important impact on perceptions and trust to this day.
In this public service campaign from The Ad Council, descendants of victims of this horrific experimentation talk about their families and the COVID vaccine.
This spot features Omar Neal, 63, a former mayor of Tuskegee, who said he was hesitant at first about the COVID shots. Neal is a nephew of Freddie Lee Tyson, a family man who was among several hundred Black men who decades ago became involved without their consent in the federally backed syphilis study. Neal said he agreed to appear in the national campaign–done by The Ad Council in conjunction with the Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation and Black Coalition Against COVID-19–after doing research to gain confidence in the vaccines. He participated in the public service ad in order to help save lives. He doesn’t want people to use Tuskegee as a reason for not getting vaccinated.
The PSAs as well as a short film were written and directed by Deborah Riley Draper of Coffee Bluff Pictures for agency JOY Collective.
