Black History

New Henrietta Lacks Statue Is Unveiled In South Boston

A bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks was unveiled in South Boston, honoring her legacy and the contributions of her HeLa cells, which revolutionized medical research worldwide. The tribute comes after a two-year fundraising effort led by her family and local organizations.

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By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

South Boston community members, local businesses and organizations recently unfolded lawn chairs, sat down, and watched as a bronze statue of Henrietta Lacks was unveiled four years after her 100th birthday in Halifax County, where she grew up.

Thanks to a two-year fundraising drive that raised $50,000 after the Lacks family and the Halifax County-South Boston NAACP Chapter launched a partnership in 2022 to honor Lacks in her hometown, Lacks’ new bronze statue now rests at Constitution Square in South Boston. The lawn in front of the stage was packed full of attendees, according to news reports.

“I look at her as this incredible woman, who unknowingly gave so much,” Regene Pleasants Coleman, Lacks’ cousin, told the audience that spilled all over the lawn.“I look at her as this phoenix rising from the petri dish. I have all of these images in my mind of her greatness because of what she has done, not only locally, but to the world.

We have all benefited from her in some capacity.”

Many at the recent South Boston unveiling ceremony were youngsters or not even born in 1951, when Lacks unknowingly made history after she received a cervical cancer diagnosis and samples of her cancerous cells were collected without her knowledge at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins Hospital. There, researchers used Lacks’ cells to create “HeLa” cells (named after the first two letters of Lacks’ first and last names). Later, HeLa cells were used to develop the polio vaccine, and have been involved in research on AIDS, cancer, COVID-19, HPV, and many other conditions, long after Lacks’ death occurred on Oct. 4, 1951, at the age of 31, eight months after her diagnosis.

Mattie Cowan, who wore a “Thank You Henrietta” T-shirt, to the recent unveiling ceremony said it felt “like a dream come true.”

Cowan said, “The family has fought many years to try to get her recognized. This is just wonderful.”

Speaking of the injustice that was done to his grandmother, Lacks’ grandson told the audience that his grandmother’s impact “transcends time.”

Alfred Carter Lacks Jr., grandson of Henrietta Lacks, peered into the sun-drenched audience and said, “On a joyous occasion like today, we cannot forget the injustice that was done back then because she wasn’t afforded healthcare as an African-American woman,” he said.