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Henrietta Lacks’ family members reach an agreement after her cells undergo advanced medical tests

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Photo: Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images

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Biotechnology laboratory equipment company Thermo Fisher Scientific has reached a settlement with the estate of Henrietta Lacks, whose descendants “have accused [the company] reaping billions of dollars from a racist medical system.”

Although the terms of the settlement are confidential, Ben Crump, one in every of Lacks’ family attorneys, said: “The parties are pleased to have found a way to resolve this matter out of court and will have no further comment on the settlement.”

The settlement was announced on Tuesday, October 1, during a press conference for what would have been Lacks’ 103R&D birthday. Renowned civil rights lawyer Crump said, “We did it – and what a birthday present today.”

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Lacks’ life story and legacy became widely known after Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” became a best-seller, followed by a 2017 feature film starring Oprah Winfrey on HBO.

When doctors o Johns Hopkins treated Lacks for cervical cancer in 1951, they removed tissue samples from her cervix without her knowledge or consent. “They found that in the lab, instead of dying, cells doubled in size every 20 to 24 hours.” Talk about Black Girl cell magic!

These cells, now generally known as HeLa the cells “were the first human cells that scientists were able to clone and have since been multiplied indefinitely.” Although Lacks died of the disease on the age of 31, her cells survived without end.

Not only were they everlasting, but HeLa cells also became… support “modern medicine, enabling countless scientific and medical innovations, including the development of a polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even vaccines for Covid-19,” in addition to treatments for cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and leukemia. HeLa The cells were also used to “study the effects of radiation on human cells and develop a treatment for sickle cell disease.”

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But the worst part was that Lacks’ family had no idea about it. They didn’t find out about their ancestors’ contributions to medicine until many years later and were never compensated.

John Hopkins stated that the institution “has never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and has no rights to the HeLa cell line”; nevertheless, “many companies have patented ways to use them.”

IN 2021“The Lacks estate sued Thermo Fisher in federal court in Baltimore… claiming that her family “did not see a penny” of the cash Thermo Fisher made by cultivating a “HeLa” cell line derived from tissue taken without Lacks’ consent during a medical examination. procedures in 1951.”

In their lawsuit, the Lacks Society argued that the treatment of their ancestor was indicative of a bigger problem that also persists today: “racism in the American medical system.”

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The criticism reads partly: “The abuse of Henrietta Lacks is unfortunately representative of a universal struggle experienced by Black people throughout history… Too often, the history of medical experimentation in the United States has been a history of medical racism.”

Although Thermo Fisher did argue that the case must be dismissed as a result of the statute of limitations, the Lacks family’s attorneys countered, “That shouldn’t apply because the company continues to profit from the cells.”

Only one in every of Lacks’ children, Lawrence Lacks Sr., is currently living. His son and her grandson Alfred Lacks Carter Jr. were on the news conference. “There could not have been a more appropriate date for her to receive justice and for her family to find some relief,” her grandson said. “It was a long fight – over 70 years – and Henrietta Lacks got her day.”

Last week, Maryland senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin “introduced a bill to posthumously award Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal.” In an announcement, Van Hollen said: “Henrietta Lacks changed the course of modern medicine… It is long past time we recognize her contributions to saving lives around the world.”

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Ben Crump

Ben Crump calls on a federal investigation after 215 bodies found in unmarked graves near the Mississippi prison – essence

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Ben Crump calls on a federal investigation after 215 bodies found in unmarked graves near the Mississippi prison

Associated Press

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The Prosecutor of Civil Rights Ben Crump calls for a federal investigation on behalf of 215 people found at the Biedak cemetery behind a prison near Jackson, Mississippi without the knowledge of their relatives.

Crump desires to know why officials didn’t examine these deaths and didn’t attempt to contact their closest relatives, as a substitute of bury them in the grave of the poor near the dirt road at the Hinds criminal farm, which is positioned about 15 miles west of the center of Jackson.

The lawyer also noted that there are several hundred unmarked graves, a total of 672.

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“We try to ensure that the Federal Department of Justice come and investigate to make sure that each of these citizens, disproportionately black citizens whose lives will be identified, their families notified, and they received the right funeral,” Crump said PBS last week.

Crump joined forces with the Reverend Hosea Hines, senior pastor of the Church Tabernacle Christ and the national leader of the latest day of the Equity and Black America coalition to call for an investigation into the causes of 215 deaths.

“It really saddens my heart that their relatives have gone through so long, some more than a year, not knowing if their loved ones are dead or alive, and then realizing that they were buried in Puper’s grave behind prison,” said Hines Chicago Crusader. “If they were properly notified, they might have the option to submit the right respect.

“People throughout America scratch their heads in disbelief about what is happening in Jackson, Mississippi with the cemetery of this poor man,” said Crump at the last press conference. “It went from talking about water,” which didn’t exist or polluted: “As we are talking about the cemetery now. What is happening in Jackson, Mississippi?”

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Hines said that the head of the Police Department in Jackson, Joseph Wade, established a latest notification policy about the death of “which would give a relative information about their death and cause.”

“I talked to the boss and he told me that he would implement the rules and procedures to make sure it would happen again and pull individuals responsible for what happened,” said Hines.

“According to The Crusader, there must be a real call to justice” for 215 black, white, Latin and indigenous Americans who were buried after prison.

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The famous civil law lawyer Ben Crump to the main 123RD National Black Business Conference – Essence

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The famous civil law lawyer Ben Crump to the main 123RD National Black Business Conference

New York, New York – April 26: Benjamin Crump participates in the 2023 Time100 gala in Jazz, Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York. (Photo Arturo Holmes/Wireimage)

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123. National Black Business Conference continues his economic involvement in the black community and has a wonderful speaker to prove it.

According to the announcement, the conference might be a candidate by lawyer Ben Crump, a well -known lawyer for civil rights, who helped win a breakthrough settlement settlement for Henrietta, there’s an absence of a family regarding the unauthorized use of its cells. As the founding father of Ben Crump Law PLLC, he supported the importance of black entrepreneurship as a method of making wealth, basic message and conference mission.

The conference, which was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900, was previously often called the National Negro Business League. For over 100 years, the conference gathered mental leaders, activists and latest generation creators.

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Crump, who represented the families of Tracvon Martin, Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Martin Lee Anderson, Breonna Taylor, has mastered civil and economic justice for over 20 years.

Last yr, Crump represented a former Google worker after a technological giant was under fire for discriminating his employees. The employees filed a lawsuit in March 2022 in the American District Court for the northern California district, claiming that business “He is involved in the” pattern and practice “of unfair treatment [also] He claims that the company directed them to lower and lower paid jobs and surrendered to a hostile work environment if they speak, “as Essence informed earlier.

Ben Crump lawyer he said“Google claims that the basic value No. 1 is figure with great people … When you accept the allegations of those minorities, and you furthermore mght have a look at the data, then he got here to the conclusion that Google thinks that great persons are white people.

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Ben Crump

60 years after the murder of Malcolm X, his family calls to separate government files – essence

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Pioneer Malcolm X becomes the 1st black distinction in the Nebraska Hall of Fame

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It has been 60 years since the leader of Malcolm X was murdered on (*60*) 21, 1965 in New York, but his family continues to be demanding a solution. On the anniversary of his murder of his daughter, next to Ben Crump’s lawyer, they renewed a call to the federal government to reject long documents related to his murder.

“We think that this month of black history, now more than ever, we must tell the story of Malcolm X, one of the greatest mental leaders of the 20th century,” said Crump at a press conference in Manhattan on Friday,CBS News Reports.

Crump indicated earlier jet efforts, including the executive order of President Trump about the release of documents related to the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. “On this historic day on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the murder of Malcolm X, we formally ask the president to disinfect [the] Malcolm X files, “he said.

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Malcolm X daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, repeated this demand. “Please only separate our father’s documentation, together with President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and, of course, Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, “she said.

The family calls for these files until May 19, which could be a birthday of the leader of civil rights. This renewed emphasis on transparency occurs only a number of months after the Malcolm X family filed a lawsuit of $ 100 million against NYPD, FBI and the CIA, claiming that law enforcement authorities conspired to facilitate his murder, after which covered their commitment.

“Based on what we learned, examining these claims regarding our lawsuit on behalf of the Malcolm X estate, we are convinced that these records will show that in the 1950s there was a” deep state “like Martin Luther. Deliberate Malcolm X. These records will lie naked – said Crump.

The claim claims that the government not only didn’t protect Malcolm X, but in addition actively acted against him. “Despite the importance of gravity of threats, the FBI does not protect Malcolm X, instead actively threatens his safety, arresting his security team a few days before the murder,” says the criticism.

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Crump emphasized that these documents should be fully released without the editor. “These vile deeds must be publicly released so that they can serve as a moment that can be taught,” he said.

History has already proved that the official history of Malcolm X’s murder was deeply defective. Three men were sentenced to his murder and doomed to live in prison. But in 2021, two of them – Muhammad Aziz and Khalil Islam – were released after hearing many years behind bars.

Aziz was released after 20 years, but Islam never lived when he saw his name. Their families finally received $ 36 million in the undisputed convicting settlement.

“The American nation deserves to learn the truth about the federal government aiming Malcolm X and the final hiding so that his family and the American people never strive for justice committed harm,” said Crump.

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The Friday press conference took place in the very place where Malcolm X was murdered – the former Audubon ballroom, currently referred to as Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. Standing in the space where her father took his last breath, Ilyasah Shabazz thought of the burden of the moment.

“I think about my mother, 60 years ago to this day, coming here and witnessing her husband’s murder and giving him a consolation when he took his last breath, here in this space, and focus and exchange this place in the Shabazz Center for others,” she said. “It was a challenge, but we could have quite a bit of faith that we are going to find a way to confirm his murder.

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