there is speech we should agree is within the realm of the general public to be to bait that is stifled or canceled. >> the cancel culture is an expensive term that's used pretty extensively in a range of different concerns. i typically narrow it to questions of shame, ostracism and probably more specifically, i'm concerned about the areas where people are fired from their positions. >> watch the communicators tonight at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span2. our topic in this half-hour of the washington journalism race and public health. our guest is lillie tyson head, president of a voices for our father's legacy foundation. start by explaining what the foundation does and whose legacy you are focused on. guest: good morning, john, and

thank you so much for having me today. excuse me. voices for our father's legacy foundation was organized in 2014 as a title i see three -- as a title ic3 two remember and honor the african-american men who were victimized and unethically treated for 40 years by the u.s. public health service syphilis study in alabama. these men were human beings, but were dehumanized and used as guinea pigs. they were our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, cousins, neighbors, coworkers, and they were dearly loved. the foundation, in solidarity

with descendants, the national center for bioethics in research at health care at tuskegee university, many dedicated supporters, we are trying and working to preserve the history of the longest lasting non-therapeutic study that the u.s. has conducted in history. we want to tell the untold stories about the study and field a lasting memorial, healing and inspiration garden at the center. we want to provide restitution to the descendants, encourage them to go into the medical field, encourage research, social justice and education. we are moving forward, determined to transform the legacy of the u.s. public health

syphilis study from shame and trauma to honor and triumph and the daughter, and my personal connection to the foundation and the study. i am the daughter of freddy lee tyson, who was unwittingly deceived to be a part of the study along with all of the other 622 men. i am deeply saddened and concerned about a system that allows such inhumane treatment, deceitfulness, and lack of respect for our loved ones and human dignity, but as president, i am honored and humbled with this responsibility and hopeful that, today, we can make a difference. host: lillie tyson head with us

in this section of the washington journal. we are here to take your calls about the group and the legacy of the study. if you are in eastern or central time zones, (202) 748-8000 is the number. mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001. you can start calling in this morning. most of our viewers probably know the name of the study, the tuskegee study, but you said in your remarks there that the official name, the u.s. public health service syphilis study conducted in tuskegee and macon county, alabama. why do you prefer that longer name, that more involved in -- more involved name, of the study? guest: that is the correct name. when the study was started in 1932, the name was the united states public health syphilis study -- i am sorry.

the united states public health study of untreated syphilis in the negro male. that was the name of the study and that it -- that was what it was first funded for. after the study became known to the public, it then went to -- or they started using the name tuskegee study. that is, in my opinion, wrong and a continued injustice. tuskegee is not the owners of that study. the public -- the u.s. public health service is the owner of the study and so should it be named that. and you also have some type of accountability for that study. none of the medical professionals, even after it became known, were held accountable for the study, so we

should start referring to the study as the united states public health service to study at tuskegee -- service study at tuskegee and include macon county because that's where the men came from, rural macon county, and when you disregard that, you are disregarding the whole community of people that were affected by the study so this is why the whole foundation is trying to change and improve their -- improve there. and i think wim we accept responsibility -- when we accept responsibility for the good and the bad, we can do much better. host: the tuskegee study itself was not a vaccination study, but in this time of vaccine

hesitancy, when it comes to the coronavirus vaccine, what do you see is your role today? guest: icus our role -- i see as our role as someone who could play a big role or big part in helping to join together with medical agencies and health care agencies to build a bridge that we all could cross from mistrust to trust in our health care system. our voices are important. an hour voices -- and our voices i think would help to provide an insight as to how and when

injustice is done, how it impacts individually not only for that. of time but for generations after. host: i want to give you the chance to chat with some collards. kyle is first out of buffalo, new york. caller: good morning . i am just calling in. we talked about the chavez trial, an educator here in buffalo, new york. host: i remember that call, kyle. caller: i was waiting to get in touch with you, but you weren't on. anyway, new topic. as an educator, it is hard because a lot of the history lessons i have learned is it really shared in the mainstream -- learned isn't society when it

comes to different cultures. i am. patrick campaign. there are people who don't get the history of african-americans in the country, is purposely being done to us. i am glad we are fittingly on topics that many of us have known for decades, but i guess with the vaccine, hence why you have skepticism -- that's why you have skepticism based on smooth things.

definitely see -- especially with that we are seeing today i will listen to your responses. i appreciate this format. host: thanks for the call. lillie tyson head, giving you a chance to respond. what do you think? guest:'s to follow, i would like to thank the caller for coming -- first of all, i would like to

think the calling in and i would like to echo what he said about the history. although this study is referenced to quite a bit with the vaccine, and one of the reasons for the hesitancy about the cobit vaccine -- the covid vaccine is that some people believe they will be injected with something and they are basing that on the misinformation and the false facts that the men were injected with something and they were not. the men were not injected with syphilis. the men stepped down paying to better their health as they were told -- down on -- down in good faith to better their health as they were told deceitfully that they had

bad blood, but were not told what the study was for. this study is only one of the mistreatments and the social and racial injustices that black americans have experienced in this country for centuries and some are still experiencing, especially when it comes to health care. there are other racial injustices that we are seeing now every day with the black lives -- not black lives matter movement, but with the killing of a lot of black men, but i want to focus on the health part of it, because when you really affect one's health, you are affecting one's life and lives for generations to come, so i

appreciate the caller for making that point. i will add i am hoping that, by talking about what has happened, reflecting on it, and seeing how we can change and make a difference, especially with our attitudes, because if our attitudes do not change, we will not change, so we need to look at each other as human beings and be treated with the respect and dignity that each human being deserves to be treated with, especially when it comes to health care. host: the tuskegee study went on fo. -- 40 years. bill clinton formally apologizes. one individual at that ceremony, hermann shah, a test kiki study survivor -- a tuskegee study

survivor. here are some remarks at the white house. [video clip] >> in my opinion, it is never too late to work to restore faith and trust. a quarter of a century after the study ended, president clinton, we are sitting together here to allow us to finally put this horrible nightmare behind us as a nation, a most commendable decision. for america to reach its full potential, we must truly be one america, black, red, white together, trusting each other, caring for each other, and never allowing the kind of tragedy that has happened to us in the tuskegee study to ever happen

again. host: lillie tyson head, hermann shah saying it is never too late to restore faith and trust. do you think faith and trust has been fully restored when it comes to the legacy of the tuskegee study? guest: yes, i do, but i think it will take a lot of work and a lot of hard, serious, heartfelt conversation, and i think, together, not alone, but together, we can bring about the faith and the trust in getting better health care and equity in our lives. i believe that, truly. it will never -- i don't think we will ever be perfect because we are human beings and we are still going to have some

discrimination and some injustice, but i think we can do much better, much, much better, than what we are doing now. when i asked my father about how he felt a few days after he learned that he had been a part of this study, and my father said that "i cannot do anything about what has happened to me and all of those other men, but it is up to you all to make sure that it doesn't happen again." and you heard those words paraphrased and echoed in what mr. shaw just said. and some of the words that was in the apology by president

clinton, you also read and heard some of those words, and it began with forgiveness and working together to make sure that each person is treated with respect, dignity, and equity. host: here's a little bit of thin president clinton's remarks from that day, may 16, 1997. [video clip] >> 40 years, hundreds of men betrayed along with their wives and children, along with their community in macon county, alabama, the city of tuskegee, the university there, and the larger african-american community. united states government did something that was wrong, deeply, profoundly morally wrong.

it was an outreach to our commitment to integrity and equality -- it was an outrage to our commitment to integrity and equality for all citizens. to the wives, family members, children and grandchildren, i say what you know. no power on earth and give you back the lives lost, the pain suffered, the years of internal torment and anguish. what was done cannot be undone, but we can end the silence. we can stop turning our heads away. we can look at you in the eye and finally say, on behalf of the american people, what the united states government did wishing and -- government did was shameful and i am sorry. host: president clinton from

1997. lillie tyson head, one of the children president clinton was referring to, is the head of the legacy for our fathers foundation. we are taking your questions as we talk about the legacy of the tuskegee study. barbara is next. good morning. caller: good morning, john. good morning, ms. head. there was no mention of a booster shot when the vaccine was announced, but now dr. fauci is announcing people will need a booster as soon as this fall. nobody who got the vaccine got a label telling them what chemicals are in the vaccine, so at this point, how likely do you think it is that something was put in the vaccine that will make people need a booster whether they want it or not? host: any thoughts on that concern you are hearing in that question? guest: i am not a medical

professional, so i really cannot address the facts about what was in the vaccine, but i can tell you that i trust the vaccine as far as one can trust. i have relied on the history of vaccines over the years. i know that i have always taken a vaccine. and when i found out that the vaccine was becoming available, i was ecstatic because i knew that that would protect me and my family from possibly death or serious illness and i knew that i had always taken vaccines and it has always turned out that way, so i am an advocate of taking vaccines.

i was not overly concerned about the expediency of the vaccine, nor was i overly concerned about the fact that it had not officially approved by the fda, but it has received emergency approval and i trusted that. i did my own personal research. i talked to my personal doctor. i talked to my family. and most of all, i saw the devastation that it was doing to all people, especially in the black and brown community, so that was alarming to me and i became a full-blown advocate of taking the vaccine. if you are able, and that is how

you can better protect yourself, better protect your family, your loved ones, and those who are around you, and for me, there's just no getting around that. it is important that we do our research. now, understand that the men did not have this opportunity. they were not informed. they didn't know. they were less educated, but they trusted and they believed that what they were doing wou ld help them to be better as well as help them to protect their families, provide them with some type of health care, but they were deceived and immorally treated my opinion -- treated in my opinion, so i would suggest everyone do your research, become informed, and

find out. make your own decision as to what you want to do if you have not taken the vaccine. you make your decision on that. and then for those of us who are still uncertain, realizing you may need a booster, i have no problems with that if you have to have a booster with the shot. i will take it. and i must say the descendants that i spoke with and the board of the directors of the foundation, all of us have taken the vaccine and we advocate for it because our fathers were denied penicillin after penicillin was discovered as a cure for syphilis. they were denied that. so here we are in a position that we can do something for ourselves and our generations to follow by taking the vaccine. host: was your father or the

other survivors of the study ever compensated by the federal government for what happened? guest: yes. there was some compensation, emphasis on the word "some." there was a class-action suit that was brought by attorney fred gray tuskegee -- great in tuskegee -- freddie gray in tuskegee. they found out because someone told him about it when he was out and about, that he was part of a study, and he did not know, so there was part of a class action suit brought on. it was settled out of court in, i think, 1973, about a year after the study became known. host: a couple more calls.

thierry has been waiting in atlanta, georgia. your arm with lillie tyson head. caller: good morning, john, how are you? host: i am doing well. caller: ms. tyson head, i first want to salute you and your daughter for the work you have done so consistently, and you have been so committed to this cause. i have so many questions. i know i am limited to time. i found out about the tuskegee study through the hbo program /documentary ms. evers boys. i was shocked. i have been to tuskegee several times. as a child, my older sister attended and is a graduate from tuskegee, so i have been all through the campus, the carver

museum, and i guess my question is how much of the documentary was true and how much was embellished and also, do you have any support for your foundation from any organizations such as, perhaps, pharmaceutical companies or major contributors -- host: let's take up those two questions you asked. guest: thank you for calling in and good morning to you. let's talk about the that was mon it was factual. it painted the men in the light that was uncomplimentary and inappropriate.

it was wrongfully done. that is another part of the mission of the foundation, to produce or do a documentary that will shed light and tell the truth about the story. they were wonderful men. don't use that as your means of understanding and believing what you see on the screen is true. as far as donations from major foundations and different companies, we welcome them. we need funds. we have received one grant from a foundation.

we did receive a sizable grant from a foundation to help with our research project, the untold story. the other donations are individuals with donations. we have membership, you can go to our website and become a member. you can donate their. my number is also available, you can give me a call if you want to talk personally with me, ask me any questions about the study. host: that is a kind offer of you. we are running short of time. we will try riverside, california. caller: good morning. this is ginger from riverside. if we could convince others of

the black community that developed the -- was part of that, i saw her on tv last week. i think that would be an encouragement. guest: thank you so much for calling in and good morning to you. any coming together in solidarity and support would be wonderful. it will be welcome. we could come together and discuss and share all of the information. that would be another way in

which we could prove the trustworthiness that would lead to trust and confidence in the treatment of the vaccine. host: she is president of the voices for our fathers. if you want to check out their work, we do appreciate your time this morning. guest: thank you so much for having me. i am grateful for the opportunity to talk about the men and legacy. we can all come together to make a difference. >> we will be taking you to a hearing on funding u.s. space programs. introductions are underway. >> hardly any topic is more important than this one. we have seen the establishment of space force and the reestablishment of space command.