Honoring those who unwillingly contributed

Rana Harvey
Columnist

VCU’s most prestigious school is its School of Medicine, hands down.

The schools of business and art are fierce competitors, however, their reputations still don’t compare to the nationally ranked MCV. This year alone, supporters of the Medical College of Virginia honored its legacy of excellence with a $25 million gift, making that one of the biggest donations of VCU’s history.

For the most part, much of MCV’s success can be attributed to its rich history as one of the first medical colleges in Virginia. And another part – a lesser known fact – could be attributed to the thousands who unwillingly surrendered their bodies to the evolution of medical science.

And they too should be honored and recognized.

Dating back to the early 20th century, many medical colleges employed grave robbers to collect bodies for students to practice anatomical dissection. Also known as body snatching, grave robbery was a common yet controversial practice among many medical professionals. Although seen as morally troubling, body snatching continued for over a century, and cadavers contributed to the success of many medical schools including Dartmouth, Ohio and the University of Pennsylvania.

In hopes of gaining recognition for those whose bodies were sacrificed here in Richmond, Shawn Utsey, chairman of African American studies, released his documentary to the public a couple weeks ago. His film, “Until the Well Runs Dry: Medicine and the Exploitation of Black Bodies,” has taken him to another journey – to return and honor the remains of those African Americans whose bodies were stolen. According to Utsey, this act could recoil the relationship between VCU and its surrounding black communities.

Honoring such remains could be seen as glorifying inhuman practices of the past, or perhaps even unnecessary, untimely and a waste of university funds. Not doing so, however, could cause greater harm to the university. It would ignore the history and therefore the legacy of medical colleges in general and possibly contradict the prestige of MCV.

This is not to say that all those whose bodies were used should have a building named after them or their picture hung up for display. A simple memorial would suffice. If truly honoring those who aided in the advancement of medicine is something VCU takes pride in, then a simple memorial shouldn’t be a problem.

Essentially, this would not be something new to MCV. Our medical school is used to honoring those who’ve contributed to its success, hence the level of prestige it has maintained. Utsey’s documentary just highlights the little-known and unconventional contributors.

VCU should continue to recognize those who’ve added to its success, even if it was unwillingly. In the same way, I could see how this could be troubling for some; body snatching isn’t the kind of history most would want to honor. Such a display exemplifies advancement not only in medicine but in humanity. Those bodies aided in the discovery and research that propelled MCV into the nationally recognized research institution it is today. We should all be proud.

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