Kalamazoo Mayor to Announce 'Henrietta Lacks Day'

Proclamation Unveiled at Lacks Play at Kalamazoo Valley Museum Saturday

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo Valley Museum this weekend debuts a play to increase awareness about the underreported story of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells, taken without her consent, led to many of the world's biggest medical breakthroughs. At a reception for the play on Saturday, the declaration of a Henrietta Lacks Day in the city of Kalamazoo will be announced. The day will be on Oct. 4, when Lacks died 71 years ago. Lacks is the great aunt of Kalamazoo resident Jermaine Jackson.

Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson is scheduled to read the proclamation announcing the Henrietta Lacks Day at a public reception at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose St. in downtown Kalamazoo, the venue for the free play. The museum's Mary Jane Stryker Theater will host the "A HeLa Story: Mother of Modern Medicine" theatrical production three times: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and 2 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1. Note that seating is limited. It is first come, first served. There is an associated exhibit that runs now through Feb. 27, 2023.

The reception is being held to celebrate "A HeLa Story: Mother of Modern Medicine" play and exhibit, co-sponsored by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and its Kalamazoo Valley Museum, in collaboration with Jermaine Jackson and with support in part from the KVCC Foundation.

The proclamation will officially be read into the record at the Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Monday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.

The exhibit and play tell the story of Henrietta Lacks through the lens Jermaine Jackson, who has amassed an intriguing collection of items about his late aunt in his quest to ensure she has a place in history and is known as more than her cells, but as a human being. "Let's honor her by educating other people about what she means to the world," says Jackson. "I realized so many people didn't know about her and her cells. Without her cells, we would not have had many advances in the medical field."

The exhibit showcases artwork of Henrietta Lacks by Southwest Michigan artists, family photos, timeline, articles and memorabilia, several pieces of which are on loan from Jackson, plus a heartfelt, informative, specially commissioned interview with Jackson that provides valuable context to the items. Enlarged photos of Lacks' immortal cells are on display, as are pictures of Jackson watching the miracle of those cells splitting under a microscope. The Henrietta Lacks Day proclamation will be added to the exhibit.

Encore performances of the play will be offered, via filmed version, at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 13, 2022 and Jan. 15, 2022 at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. The play, written by local playwright Buddy Hannah at Jackson's request, gives a glimpse into Lacks' personal side, including the unauthorized removal of her cells, as well as Jackson's journey from initial boyhood skepticism to his adulthood awe of his aunt's cells. Jackson's grandmother Bessie Lacks, of Kalamazoo, and Henrietta Lacks married brothers. Lacks, an African American mother of five, died on Oct. 4, 1951, at age 31, from cervical cancer.

Researchers continue to utilize her cell line known as HeLa cells, because, unlike other human cells, hers have the unique ability to multiply on their own outside of the body; hers were the first to do so in a lab setting. Cells from Lacks' cancerous tumor were taken for research purposes without her or her family's permission when she sought treatment at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore in 1951. The practice was common at the time. John Hopkins shared her cells with the scientific community worldwide. It never sold or profited from the discovery of HeLa cells, and does not own them. Among many things, Lacks' cells led to the polio vaccine and AIDS and cancer treatments, and to Nobel Prizes to several scientists for their discoveries.

Museum Director Bill McElhone says the Henrietta Lacks story is one of worldwide significance. "I'm most excited about advancing awareness of her and exploring her story filled with many accomplishments, inequities and injustices to drive important conversations."

ABOUT THE CAST / CONTRIBUTORS
Zaynee Hobdy, a member of Face Off Theatre Company in Kalamazoo, plays Henrietta Lacks, and director/actor Sid Ellis is Jermaine Jackson. Also starring will be D. Neil Bremer, Jennifer Clark and Aija Hodges, with Angela Anderson and Kim Chandler serving as narrators. The play is interwoven with poems and essays from area writers William Hatcher, of Battle Creek; Aija Hodges, of Kalamazoo; Charles E. Peterson Sr., of Bangor; and James J. Smith, of Battle Creek. The logo for "A HeLa Story" features a Lacks portrait by Grand Rapids artist Jamari Taylor. Kalamazoo artist Kenjii Jumanne-Marshall created the digital scenery for the play.

For more information, visit kalamazoomuseum.org. Seating for the play will be limited. It will be first come, first served. The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees.