William Carter Jenkins (July 26, 1945 – February 17, 2019) was an American

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

researcher and academic. Jenkins worked as a statistician at the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services which manages public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The assistant s ...

in the 1960s, and is best known for trying to halt the

Tuskegee syphilis experiment The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male (informally referred to as the Tuskegee Experiment or Tuskegee Syphilis Study) was a study conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the United States Public Health Service (PHS) and the Cent ...

in 1968. He spent the rest of his career fighting racism in the

U.S. healthcare system Healthcare in the United States is largely provided by private sector healthcare facilities, and paid for by a combination of public programs, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments. The U.S. is the only developed country without a syst ...

, working for the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(CDC) during the early days of the

AIDS crisis The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

, and overseeing the government benefits program for survivors of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

Life and career

Jenkins graduated from

historically black Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

with a degree in mathematics in 1967, and he earned a master's in biostatistics from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

in 1974, a master's in public health from

the university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

(UNC) in 1977, and a PhD in epidemiology from UNC in 1983. Jenkins helped to create a newsletter called “The Drum” with the purpose of addressing discrimination in health care. It was in this newspaper that Jenkins first wrote about his concerns regarding the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments before contacting larger news corporations. Jenkins' continued to expose the Tuskegee Syphilis study with his 2002 production of "Voices of the Tuskegee Study", a documentary featuring some survivors of the study and their stories of the study's lasting effects. Jenkins' advocacy work concerning the lives of participants did not end with his attempts to expose the study or his aid in running the benefits program for survivors. He also served on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study Legacy Committee and in doing so called for an apology from the United States government. He was present in 1997 as President Bill Clinton extended that apology, admitting the wrongdoings of the government and their involvement in the study. He was one of the first cadre of African Americans recruited to the

United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHSCC; also referred to as the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service) is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of t ...

in the 1960s. In 1980 he joined the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the CDC, where he was a Supervisory Epidemiologist and manager of th
Tuskegee Health Benefit Program
He later taught in the Epidemiology department at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, and at

in Atlanta Georgia. He served as co-director of the UNC Minority Health Project and helped to create the yearly conference associated with this project.

Recognition

Jenkins received the Hildrus Augustus Poindexter Award from the National Black Caucus of Health Workers of the

American Public Health Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...

References

Morehouse College alumni Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences alumni UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health alumni People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 1945 births 2019 deaths Centers for Disease Control and Prevention people United States Public Health Service personnel American epidemiologists African-American activists African-American statisticians American statisticians University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Morehouse College faculty 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 20th-century African-American academics 20th-century American academics {{US-physician-stub

Life and career

Recognition

Further reading

References