"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" Multi-Disciplinary Program

How do you take a national bestselling book with such heavy subjects as racial discrimination, social injustice, biomedical ethics and genetics and teach it to middle school students? Krieger Schechter Day School has found a way, incorporating the book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot, into all aspects of the school’s eighth grade curriculum this year, such as science, art, history, language arts, social studies and rabbinic texts.

The three-month program began in November when Language Arts teacher Sima Abarbanel introduced the book to the eighth grade language arts classes and Barbara Siegel, KSDS Science Chair, started a unit on genetics. The program continued in December when the school and Hadassah: The Women’s Zionist Organization of America co-sponsored a program which featured David Lacks, the son of Henrietta Lacks; David’s daughter, Jeri Lacks Whye; Dr. Joan Boughman, chief executive officer of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG); and Dr. Mimi Blitzer, head of the Division of Human Genetics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The speakers discussed the legacy of Henrietta Lacks and participated in a panel discussion on bioethics and genetics.

The spring semester will feature a number of programs related to the story of Henrietta Lacks which encompass a wide range of subjects in both general and Judaic studies. Two art projects will simultaneously take place throughout the semester, one led by Barbara Siegel which will examine four parts of a cell where the students will be asked to artistically portray themselves in the cell. Another project, led by Sima Abarbanel, will feature members of the entire school and overall Baltimore communities putting their thumbprints onto a portable canvas featuring a portrait of Henrietta Lacks. In addition, one of the weekly charitable giving projects this semester will feature the HeLa Foundation.

The Judaics staff at KSDS, led by Head of Judaic Studies Robyn Blum, will engage the eighth grade students in an exploration of the role of Judaism in making bioethical decisions. Students will explore how Jewish texts from a variety of sources can provide guidance when faced with the moral dilemmas presented by modern scientific advantages.

On January 15, Rabbi Avram Reisner of Chevrei Tzedek Congregation will speak to adults on the topic of Jewish medical ethics and how it applies to the story of Henrietta Lacks.  This program will take place from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Chizuk Amuno Congregation and is open to the entire community.

  • On January 19, Rena Lapidus, Ph.D., the Director of the Translational Core Facility at the University of Maryland, will discuss her work with tissue cultures with the students.

  • On February 27, Jeri Lacks Whye and the great-grandchildren of Henrietta Lacks will be at the school to meet with the students, who started a correspondence with her great-grandchildren last semester. This program will be part of the parent-child book club.

  • On March 1, Rabbi Deborah Wechsler of Chizuk Amuno Congregation will speak to the students about Jewish medical ethics and how it applies to the book.

  • On March 15, Dr. Blitzer will return to the school to discuss the role of genetics in the Henrietta Lacks story with KSDS students.

  • On April 23, the faculty and staff of KSDS will lead the students on a tour of “HeLa Baltimore,” which will include a tour of Johns Hopkins hospital, where much of the story of Henrietta Lacks takes place, as well as a lecture at the Essex Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, where author Rebecca Skloot will be speaking.

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells the story of a poor, African-American woman who was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital for cancer but whose cells were later cultured into the first set of “immortal” human cells grown in culture without hers or her family’s knowledge. Her cells, known as the HeLa Line, are still used today and responsible for the polio vaccine; uncovering secrets of cancer, viruses and the atom bomb; lead to modern medical advances such as in vitro fertilization, cloning and gene mapping; and launched a multi-million dollar industry. In the book, author Rebecca Skloot uncovers the truth about Henrietta Lacks and her family and traces the cells roots from that first biopsy at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to today.