Tuskegee History (Brief History of Tuskegee)
Tuskegee was founded and established by General Thomas Simpson Woodward, who served under Andrew Jackson during the Indian Wars. Tuskegee is argued to have been named after an Indian tribe, the Taskigis, native to the region. The area was "home of the Taskigis, Channuanugee, Chehaws and Tallassee Indian tribes" ("Historical"). The settlement was partially destroyed because of a fire, and was rebuilt by Mr. William Campbell. In 1843, the city was incorporated, and "Many noted men and women of national and international fame attended educational institutions in Tuskegee" ("Historical"). Tuskegee's educational atmosphere flourished with the Tuskegee Military Institute for Boys and Park High School for Boys established as early schools prior to public school legislation in 1898. Tuskegee "ranks fifth from the top of cities in Alabama having the highest percentage of college graduates" ("Historical").The city is located 40 miles east of Montgomery, the State Capitol with a population of approximately 11,000. It serves as the arrest community and one of four incorporated towns in a rural area.
Tuskegee itself is in clear detriment, with many houses in need of repair. There are few businesses and stores available. Racial problems prompted white-owned business to close, resulting in a signifiant loss of white residents. George Washington Carver joined the Tuskegee Institute as a means to "help the poor black farmers of Alabama" and was able to help "all farmers, black and white as they attempted to scratch a living out of destitute soil" (Selbert). Severe racism was prevalent in the past; there were many efforts to block the black vote and African-American prominence in the community. Thus, in the mid 1950's, Revered Kenneth Buford countered the state efforts to restrict the black influence by urging "parishioners and others in the African American community to boycott Tuskegee's white-owned businesses" (Selbert). Most of these stores closed.
Tuskegee University( Tuskegee University)
The city encountered many occurrences of racial oppression and African American advancement, including one of the most "egregious abuse of authority on the part of medical researchers" (Fairchild). African Americans were deceived and utilized as lab mice for a research study on the impact and effects of syphilis on the African American population versus the white populations. The study deceived test subjects in regards to the "very existence and nature of the inquiry into which individuals were lured," it exploited "social vulnerability" to recruit and retain research subjects, and deprived subjects any access to "available medical care" (Fairchild). The atrocious study emphasized the social and political disempowerment of blacks, creating great controversy over medical ethics.The city has had its share of horrors, but some good has blossomed from such.
As a result, historically and culturally relevant buildings and monuments exist. The Macon County Courthouse features yellow-brick Romanesque-style structure," and was built in 1907, serving as the site for important civil rights cases as early as the 1940's. Education played a fundamental role in the development of Tuskegee, with humble beginnings including the Harris Barrett School. The school was a simple, two-room establishment built by Tuskegee Institute students under the direction of Booker T. Washington. From such beginnings, Tuskegee Institute grew into a blooming center for progress, and the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site contains the schools earliest "two dozen structures, dating from around the turn of the 20th century, built by students on gorgeous grounds set in some hills" (Selbert). Tuskegee, Alabama currently strives as a down-trodden city with significant historical relevance in regards to civil rights and African American progression.
Tuskegee Syphilis Study (Tuskegee Syphilis)
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