Miss Evers’ Boys

Acknowledged as a ‘scar on America’s history,’ the shameful Tuskegee Institute Study, chronicled from 1932-1972, concerned 300 African-American men who were denied treatment for syphilis and deceived by officials of the United States Public Health Service. These men were told they were being treated for “bad blood,” and they should be proud to participate in this special program that would help save thousands of other lives. However, they were not told that their participation in this experiment would jeopardize their lives.
The story is told from the point of view of Eunice Evers, the public health nurse who establishes personal relationships with four men in the study. As time evolves, Miss Evers grows more skeptical of her role in helping these men as self-serving doctors and Washington bureaucracy restrict her. She often expresses her fears and frustrations in several monologues with the audience. Cheryl D. Hescott directs.