KC Oasis Book Club: "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"
Schedule
Sun, 01 Feb, 2026 at 01:15 pm
UTC-06:00Location
1717 W 41st St, Kansas City, MO, United States, Missouri 64111 | Kansas City, KS
We are meeting the first Sunday of the month going forward.February's book is "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot.
Please bring a snack to share and be ready to discuss this highly acclaimed novel.
Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells — taken without her knowledge — became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than 60 years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown, buried in an unmarked grave. Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits. As Rebecca Skloot so brilliantly shows, the story of the Lacks family — past and present — is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.
By participating in this event, you agree to abide by the Oasis Code of Conduct (http://www.kcoasis.org/about-oasis/code-of-conduct/)
Where is it happening?
1717 W 41st St, Kansas City, MO, United States, Missouri 64111
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
