HISTORY

From the 1950s to the 1970s, inmates in Philadelphia’s Holmesburg Prison were intentionally exposed to pharmaceuticals, viruses, fungus, asbestos, and even dioxin - a component of Agent Orange - for the sake of scientific experimentation. Each experiment was under the purview of Dr. Albert Kligman, a celebrated dermatologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. 

The vast majority of those subjected to this wide range of experimentation were Black men, many of whom were illiterate, awaiting trial and attempting to save enough money to make bail. 

Over the course of 20 years, doctors conducted experiments on inmates and tested various products such as hair dyes, detergents, liquid diets, eye drops, and skin creams, all of which were experimental and not yet approved for human use, leaving them with physical and mental side effects that followed them for the rest of their lives.

While doctors knew the potentially deadly and long term side effects of each test, prisoners were not told how each experiment would affect them.From these experiments, Dr. Albert Kligman, the lead researcher working in the prison, invented Retin-A (a common acne treatment) and Renova (a popular anti-aging cream). 

The patents on these products made Kligman, Johnson & Johnson, and The University of Pennsylvania hundreds of millions of dollars, while the prisoners were paid $1 on average for participating. Many prisoners were left with lifelong scarring and side effects.

There is still much more research that must be done in order to fully understand who was impacted by these experiments. Part of our fundraising will cover the costs of bringing on an archivist/researcher to help us uncover more.