Radio host Joe Madison discovered that his biological grandfather was a victim of a dark and shameful part of American History – the Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Study. 

The Tuskegee Institute Syphilis Study, or Tuskegee Study, was conducted by the United States Public Health Service from 1932 until 1972; the objective of the study was to observe the natural progression of the sexually transmitted disease syphilis on African American men. 

The study was conducted on African American men, primarily poor and uneducated sharecroppers in Tuskegee, Alabama; which at the time had the highest syphilis rate in the country. The participants were told they were being treated for “bad blood” and were offered incentives in exchange for their participation including transportation, free meals, free medicine (for diseases other than syphilis) and burial insurance; most had never had any access to health care. Approximately 600 men were enrolled in the study; over 399 men were infected with syphilis and 201 were disease free. Participants of the study were never told they had syphilis and were only given placebos even after 1947 when scientists discovered that penicillin was an effective treatment for syphilis. Researchers withheld treatment for the disease even as men were tested upon entering the US Military; other recruits were tested and treated for the disease. Many participants died from complications of syphilis and many wives, girlfriends and children contracted the disease. Researchers never shared the purpose of the study with participants and did not follow any of the protocols of informed consent. 

The study was terminated in 1972 when a whistleblower, Peter Buxtun, working for U.S. Public Health Service shared the study with the media. He had raised concerns years earlier within the Public Health Service to no avail so he made the decision to share internal documents with journalists. There was public outcry which led to a congressional hearing and termination of the study on the grounds it was unethical and unjustified. 

In 1974, a $10 million dollar settlement was reached with the victims and the Tuskegee Health Benefits Program was created to provide benefits and medical services to all participants and their families. In 1997, President Bill Clinton issued an apology on behalf of the United States Government to the eight remaining survivors and descendants of victims of the study.