Say Her Name: Honoring Henrietta Lacks' Legacy and Impact on Medicine and Research Ethics

This anthology features poems by Listener Poets from The Good Listening Project (TGLP), inspired by one-on-one conversations with 13 women in the Cedars-Sinai community. The poems capture both the participants’ personal and professional experiences, as well as their reflections on Henrietta Lacks’ legacy. This collaboration is part of both organizations’ commitment to advancing research and health equity, offering a multi-layered narrative that underscores the ongoing importance of health justice today.

“To the Lacks family, we offer this poetry anthology as a gesture of gratitude, recognition, and continued advocacy. Henrietta’s gift to the world is immeasurable, and we hope to offer something in return: the promise that her name, her story, and her humanity will never be forgotten.”

- Cedars-Sinai Editors

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Poems in this Collection

We Shall Know Her Name

Conversation with Kimako Desvignes DNP, RN, Associate Director of Oncology with almost 30 years of experience in medicine, was an emotional journey through a history of social injustice and racial discrimination—a reflection on ancestry at times through shared tears. Henrietta Lacks’ story had a powerful impact on us both.

'O ka mele

Her childhood was infused with Hawaiian-Polynesian music and dance, taught to her father by his mother. Today, her life’s work is to connect the unbelievable discoveries of molecularly focused pre-clinical research directly to the patient experience of treatment.

Hidden Figures

Professionally, for this person, Henrietta Lacks’ story represents the need to critically examine our research infrastructure. “Private companies benefit from publicly-funded research without a requirement to give back to ensure the viability of future research.”

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