In the 1950's, racial segregation was very common. Blacks were treated terribly and many did not have heath care. John Hopkins Hospital was one of the only hospitals that allowed African Americans to seek medical care in Baltimore. Although they were allowed care, they didn't receive the best. "Often at times they would be treated later in their medical conditions due to their skin color, and also given lesser doses of pain medication than whites"(Immortal Life). Beginning in the 1800's and getting progressively worse as medical advances grew; doctors conducted experiments on blacks and others in thousands of places around the world. During the time Henrietta was at John Hopkins, there were stories of white doctors who would come and steal African American children from their hospital rooms and use them in experiments. "U.S. Army covert biological weapons researchers release mosquitoes infected with yellow fever and dengue fever over Savannah, GA., and Avon Park, FL., to test the insects ability to carry disease. After each test, Army agents pose as public heath officials to test victims for effects and take pictures of the unwitting subjects. These experiments result in high fevers, respiratory distress, stillbirths, and typhoid among the two cities as well as several deaths"(NatureNews).