LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A team of student researchers and a mental health specialist in Louisville has partnered to bring awareness to the unethical research on Black men in Lexington.
A pair of student researchers from the University of Ottawa, based in Canada, have partnered up with a licensed clinical counselor in Louisville to tackle racial disparities uncovered in research that dates back to experiments the CIA did on black men from 1947 to 1974.
“Even though it happened between 1947 and 1974 it is very much not only impacting the community trust - right the community trust level, but it’s also impacting the way that people engage in resources that they actually need," explains Elishia Durrette Johnson, who is the founder of 'Begin to Talk' and is a licensed professional clinical counselor in Lexington.
The research started in 2019 with Dr. Monica Williams from the University of Ottawa, who visited Louisville to conduct mental health workshops.
“While she was on outreach and inviting people to these sessions, she quickly realized there were very few people of color that were actually attending. Specifically folks who are local and that actually raised some alarms that why isn’t that representation here," said Sheldomar Elliott, who is the project lead for the research project.
His research assistant, Lianna Tullis-Robinson, who is a doctoral student, explains how phase one of their research is complete. “Now we’re actually out here shifting to phase two so we are here meeting people, going to various community centers, going to stakeholders and leaders. Now that we have the background lets get to the research to talk about the additional information in the community.”
Tullis-Robinson says research they found in Lexington connected to people of color were themes of unethical methodology and participants were treated unfairly.
“They looked through all of the research that was unethical that was published here in Lexington, Kentucky. And they ended up identifying 48 studies, so we combed through those studies. We looked at the data, we looked at the results.”
But how do they plan to get the additional research? By hosting both in-person and virtual listening sessions in Lexington.
Sunday was their first in-person listening session held at the Peach Cobbler Factory from 2 to 4 p.m.
They will hold two more in person listening sessions:
- Monday, June 30 from 4-6 p.m. at Peach Cobbler Factory
- Tuesday, July 1 from 1-3 p.m. at Eastside Library
The rest of the listening sessions will be held virtually. All participants will be compensated $75 for their time and any other costs. Food will be provided for the in-person listening sessions, and the sessions will be no longer than 90 minutes.
The group says visiting places like the Lyric Theater and local barber shops, or even Saturday's Kickback, where living black history is celebrated, helps them connect with the community.
“Do you know about the addiction research center? Do you know about this history? And really recognizing that these experiments happened into the 40’s into the 70’s," asks Elliott. "So it’s unlikely these people who are experimented on may be around, but perhaps someone has heard that story through their family.”
“It’s important to make sure that we uplift the voices that were otherwise mystified. That were otherwise covered or tabooed from some of the unethical researches that’s been done that’s impacted people directly in Lexington, Kentucky community," said Johnson.
The group says trauma is intergenerational, and this is a systemic issue they're trying to tackle while providing mental health resources to those who attended their sessions.
“We need to speak up and share our voices in a way that is safe and is informed culturally, so that history doesn’t repeat itself and we can move forward in a more just way," said Elliott.
You can visit their website for more information on the research project, or you can visit their social media.
If you'd like to learn more about Johnson's 'Begin to Talk' organization, you can visit her Instagram for more information.
