Lesson Plan for Chapter 6: “We Have No Further Interest in These Patients until They Die”: The U.S. Public Health Service’s Syphilis Study and African American Cemeteries in Macon County, Alabama by Carroll Van West

Part One: The Historic Cemetery at Creek Stand (AME) Zion Church

Now that we know the background of the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study, let's next consider one of the cemeteries where the victims of the study are buried.

Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery, facing southeast (photograph by the author)

Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery, facing northeast (photograph by the author)

Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery, facing northwest (photograph by the author)

Amy Pace grave marker, Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery (photograph by the author)

Ned Pace grave marker, Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery (photograph by the author)

Lelar Hubbard grave marker, Creek Stand AME Zion Church Cemetery (photograph by the author)

How would you describe the cemetery?

Are the grave markers similar?

What questions about the people buried at the cemetery would you want to pursue?

What are online resources you can use to find out more about those buried here?

Does the cemetery strike you as a place that reflects the class and wealth of the victims?

Why would this place still matter to the community?

What does the cemetery's setting and its markers imply about the syphilis study and its victims?

For more on the Creek Stand community, see www.digtheridge.com

Part Two: The Historical Marker at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery

Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, interpretive marker, facing south (photograph by author)

What story is conveyed by the historical marker at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery?

How is this marker different from others you have seen at historic places or along highways?

Do the size and design of the marker reflect a community need to state clearly and loudly why the cemetery matters?

The marker faces a state highway. How does that location reflect the community's resistance to government erasure of the cemetery's story--in the present, and for the future?

For more on the Shiloh community, see www.shilohcommfound.com

Part Three: Documenting the Landscape

Why do cemeteries matter to the study of the U.S. Public Health Syphilis Study?

Are the cemeteries properties of commemoration or properties of victimization?

Should the stories and locations of these cemeteries be shared with others? Why?

Additional Resources:

The Centers for Disease Control's documents on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: www.cdc.gov/tuskegee

The National Register of Historic Places nomination on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and its impact: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77835306

College Board Lesson Plan on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/yes/module_27.pdf