CLEAR Hosts Professor Deleso Alford and Professor Patricia Williams in a Discussion on Unjust Enrichment and the Case of Henrietta Lacks

On March 12, 2024, Northeastern Law’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR) hosted Professor Deleso Alford, Rachel Emanuel Endowed Professor at the Southern University Law Center, for a conversation with Northeastern University Professor of Law and Humanities Patricia Williams about the impact of Henrietta Lack’s case. More than 100 people online and in-person attended the session, Unjust Enrichment: The Case of Henrietta Lacks – Property, Disembodiment, Death, Gender and Race.

Lacks was a young Black mother whose cervical cells were taken without her knowledge and consent in 1951 when she sought treatment in the segregated hospital ward at John Hopkins. Nicknamed “HeLa,” her cells, because of their ability to reproduce outside of the body, have supported generations of medical research. Although she passed away in 1951, her cells continue to impact the world.

Through her research, writing and litigation support, Alford has sought justice for Lacks’ descendants. Her 2012 research focused on “placing the cells back in the body” to emphasize Lacks’ humanity. Alford stressed the importance of moving out of silos and having intentional collaboration between the academy and advocacy. Williams, whose work engages with how law contributes to the violation of patients’ rights, and why Black women are particularly vulnerable, raised concerns about the emergence of “bio-colonialism” and the “propertization” of body parts.

Attendees were challenged to think more broadly about the right to a free, global, public health system and the hoarded private wealth generated from cell research.