WHO WE ARE

the importance of our foundation

Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation (VFOFLF), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was founded in 2014 by descendants of these beloved 625 victims to transform the legacy of the United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama, 1932 - 1972, from one of SHAME and TRAUMA to HONOR and TRIUMPH. The Foundation is preserving history by educating the public of the atrocities that took place during those 40 years, securing funding through various sources to provide for the educational needs of future descendants, advocating for equity-focused public health, clinical research and practice, and promoting a more diverse medical and public health workforce.

Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation connects descendants across generations, provides annual scholarships to descendants, participates in the Research Project “The Untold Story”, and offers support to the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care. The Foundation partners with other like minded government Health Agencies and private organizations to dismantle racial health treatment, build trust and trustworthiness in the health care system, and bring about health equity and social justice. 

Voices For Our Fathers Legacy Foundation changes the narrative of the United States Public Health Service Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male at Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama 1932 - 1972. For forty years 625 African American men were subjected to inhumane and unethical healthcare and treatment. They cannot remain being remembered only as poor, uneducated, uninformed guinea pigs. This study had tremendous ramifications on the small Macon County community, African American communities, and around the Nation. In today’s culture we are witnessing growing disparities in healthcare amongst those in most need and enduring social injustices. It is incumbent upon the Foundation to become an agent that will promote and advocate for ethical treatment and equity in healthcare. It is also important that the Foundation moves forward with purposeful actions while remembering the suffering and sacrifices of the 625 men.