Based on the shocking true story. “Miss Evers' Boys” exposes a 40 year government-backed medical research effort on humans, which led to tragic consequences. It is 1932 when loyal, devoted Nurse Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard) is invited to work with Dr. Brodus (Joe Morton) and Dr. Douglas (Craig Sheffer) on a federally funded program to treat syphilis patients in Alabama. Free treatment is offered to those who test positive for the disease, including Caleb Humphries(Laurence Fishburne) and Willie Johnson (Obba Babatunde). But when the government withdraws its funding, money is offered for what will become known as "The Tuskegee Experiment", a study of the effects of syphilis on patients who don't receive treatment. Now the men must be led to believe they are being cared for, when in fact they are being denied the medicine that could cure them. Miss Evers is faced with a terrible dilemma - to abandon the experiment and tell her patients or to remain silent and offer only comfort. It is a life or death decision that will dictate the course not only of her life, but the lives of all of Miss Evers' boys.

This film explores the issue of ethics in research, specifically that medical researchers have an ethical obligation to provide study participants with the best care available, regardless of the nature of the inquiry. A discussion following the film would summarize how clinical trials are conducted, and explain ways that the Tuskegee study changed the way research has been conducted ever since, including rules for multi-ethnic inclusion. Discussion topics could also include STDs, ethnic/cultural issues in medicine and treatment, and patient rights.

About the speaker: Keith C. Norris, MD, is Professor of Medicine, Vice-President for Research, and Program Director of the Clinical Research Center at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California.

Dr. Norris attended Cornell University, Ithaca, New York from 1973 to 1976. After receiving his medical degree (1980) from Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, Dr. Norris completed an internship and a residency at Howard University Hospital, also in Washington, DC, where he served as chief resident in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Norris then completed fellowships in nephrology at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine and at Wadsworth VA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in metaphysics, spirituality, and holistic health at the College of Metaphysical Studies and New Age Ministries in Clearwater, Florida.

Dr. Norris’s research interests focus on the impact and outcomes of chronic kidney disease in African American and Latino populations, the role of vitamin D in chronic kidney disease, calcium management in end-stage renal disease, and hypertension. He is currently a principal investigator or coinvestigator on 11 National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored trials, researching such diverse topics as health disparities in chronic kidney disease, testosterone and muscle function, self-management of diabetes, and transcendental meditation in cardiovascular disease. Dr. Norris is a member of the NIH Study Section for the National Center for Research Resources and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative Advisory Committee, and the NIH/National Center for Research Resources Clinical Research Working Group. A frequent presenter in both professional and academic settings, Dr. Norris has authored more than 100 papers, including journal articles, reviews, and textbook chapters, and over 100 abstracts. He is editor-in-chief of Ethnicity & Disease.

Board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology, Dr. Norris is also certified as a specialist in clinical hypertension by the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. Additionally, he is a Reiki Master. He currently holds professional memberships in the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Nephrology, the Renal Physicians Association, and the National Medical Association, among many others.