Enslaver Thomas Hamilton was obsessed with Black people in the WORST way. He spent months in the 1830s torturing enslaved man John Brown to “prove” all the ways Black bodies were inferior to whites.
Medical journals published his false findings helping to spread racist ideologies. The worst part is some doctors today still believe these ridiculous lies!
Lie #1: We Have Thick Skin
Hamilton cut Brown to the bone, trying to determine how deep Black skin went. Nearly two centuries later, a 2016 study revealed that over 30% of doctors STILL believe that our skin is thicker than that of whites!
Lie #2: We Can Tolerate More Pain
Others continued with similar heinous experiments, furthering falsehoods about our pain tolerance. They claimed that our “thick skin” meant we could bear surgery without the use of anesthesia and not feel a thing!
#3: We Have Low Lung Capacity
Thomas Jefferson published a book of unproven theories, including claims that we have lower lung capacity than whites, which was used to justify enslavement.
Today, doctors use spirometers to diagnose and monitor respiratory illnesses. They still have built-in race “correction” software that inaccurately accounts for low lung capacity!
We deserve care that isn’t based on white supremacist lies. It’s up to us to advocate for ourselves and fight these lies – it can help save Black lives!