Target: St. Louis

The focus of this film is on 20th century evidence of human subject testing in a primarily African-American, low income neighborhood in St. Louis. The inhabitants of this neighborhood were not informed in advance, nor provided any protection against the effects of the spraying a chemical designed by the US Army. This experiment occurred at the same time as the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Project run by the US Dept. of Public Health. In our documentary, we explore the catalyst, the rationale and justifications for this human experiment and for subsequent Federal legislation requiring informed consent by human subjects. This film also explores the legacy of distrust within minority communities towards medical doctors and the pharmaceutical industry because of the exposure of official malfeasance in the field of public health in the U.S. We examine historical data which may point to the historic undermining and destabilization of predominantly African American communities.