The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Page #5

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Now, Barbara and I have always protected you.

And I'm grateful for all that.

- When you were pregnant with Alfred...

- Lawrence.

There's many a day

the only thing kept me going

was knowing my mama loved

and missed me as much as I miss her.

- Making sure you stayed...

- I ain't stopping.

- I am not stopping!

- Deb,

Lawrence is gonna keep getting upset,

and Dale is gonna do what she wants,

- like Dale always does.

- You don't remember!

- Go ahead.

- How thin she got,

how whatever they put up in her

burned her inside and out!

Dale, baby, why do you think

Gey used "Helen Lane"

instead of "Henrietta Lacks"?

Becca showed me the papers

where he wanted to use her name,

but the lawyers...

And Hopkins made

all that money off of our mother!

Hopkins ain't made a dime!

Rebecca's saying whatever

Hopkins wants her to say,

and you dumb enough to believe her.

I'm gonna go check on Davon.

Dale, Dale.

All those trips the two

of you take, who pays?

Thank you, Barbara.

It was a very lovely meal.

Once they get what they want,

they're gonna leave you to die.

Just like they did Mama.

Oh, hi. I wasn't expecting you

until tomorrow.

Remember that first time we talked,

and I didn't wanna see you?

- Yeah.

- Who told you to go down to Clover?

Sonny.

And Dr. Pattillo. And I had read it in...

Sonny didn't mention that to me.

I don't know, Rebecca.

I'm not doing anything

behind your back, I swear.

Well, this card of yours say you a freelance

science, medical writer and editor,

and you say you're doing

all this on your own.

So, I don't know about that.

Freelance just means that I work for myself.

I know what it means,

but everybody got somebody backing them.

Nobody have the money to do

all these things you're doing,

your traveling and your... Your recording...

Deborah, I swear,

I haven't gotten a penny from anyone.

So, let's talk about this book you wanna

write, which is all fine and good,

but where's the funding in there

for the family?

- I don't have any funding.

- And you ain't offered none neither.

I can't offer you something

that I don't have.

I told you I wanna start that foundation.

- Where is it?

- Where's what?

- The book!

- What?

You said you turned it in!

So, where is the book?

- There's no book yet.

- Where is the book?

I said where is the book?

- Is it for sale already out there?

- Deborah! Deborah!

And you making money off of my family

like everybody else?

- Where is the book?

- Look, here, here, here!

MasterCard, Visa, $2,000 past due.

Travel expense report.

I write cheesy articles

to pay for our rooms and gas.

Checking account. $87 in my checking account.

Okay? Deborah, I swear to you, honest to God,

no one's given me any money.

Before you called that first time, well,

this Alabama snake entered our lives.

Sir Lord Keenan Kester Cofield, Esquire.

And you are?

A corrective to all that ails.

And in no time,

he had everybody cheering him on.

We can all lift up our heads

with the knowledge that Henrietta Lacks

helped cure polio.

- That's right.

- But the fact remains,

Johns Hopkins Hospital is guilty

of medical grand larceny.

Ooh! I've been saying that.

Haven't I been saying that?

- That's right. Yeah!

- And somebody's going to pay.

After dealing with Johns Hopkins,

I'm walking over to the office

of every biotech CEO

and demanding reparations to the tune

of $60 million.

Lord have mercy!

Hard not to get caught up in hope

when you been powerless for so long.

And then, guess who called.

Richard Wilson, attorney

with Johns Hopkins Hospital.

I'm calling regarding Sir Lord Cofield,

whom you should know is not a lawyer.

Deborah, no.

...incarcerated in Alabama.

Since his release, Mr. Cofield

has been masquerading as an attorney.

Suing everybody left and right.

Burger King for cooking

their French fries in pork fat

and the Chattanooga Times

for printing my obituary.

Which he wrote and submitted hisself!

The main reason I'm calling is last week,

Mr. Cofield was here at the hospital

demanding a copy of your

mother's medical records.

I will walk through fire

before I let you touch

anything belonging to my mother.

Gal,

you ain't the only one ain't scared of fire.

Just like that,

Mr. Corrective To All That Ails

set out to do us in.

He sued everybody, sued Hopkins, sued me,

Lawrence, Sonny, Barbara.

Every day, another summons.

Child, I was a mess.

Then one day, I'm home by myself,

another one of Sir Lord's summonses.

I knew she died when she was 15,

but not in that place.

Just to think about her in there all alone...

In the same summons,

he wrote about this book.

When I saw my mama's picture

and read her autopsy report,

my nerves just broke.

They took me to

every doctor and psychiatrist,

and, you name it, they said I had it.

Paranoia, schizophrenia, anxiety.

Dale.

All I know is, when I...

When I get in that mood and I get frightened,

I just... I just... I wanna hide.

And this all happened...

Just before you called.

Oh, my... Wow.

My mama's medical records is...

It's all I have.

The only thing I have

that don't nobody else have.

When the time is right, I'll share them.

But I get to say when that is.

Elsie, I'm coming to find out

about you and take you home.

You ready?

Hmm.

Where is everybody?

- Hello?

- Well, let's see.

Maybe something down here.

Oh. There it is.

Hmm.

What the hell?

Hello!

Anybody here?

- Hello?

- Hello? Somebody come help us!

- Can I help you?

- I'm looking for my sister.

Uh, could you tell me

what this is in reference to?

Guess I just got invisible.

My sister was a patient here

till she got killed in 1955,

so I'd appreciate it if you would point us

in the direction of her files

'cause that door over there

say "medical records,"

but they ain't nowhere to be found.

What was your sister's name?

Was Crownsville always

predominantly African-American?

- Um, until '63.

- Mmm-hmm.

You'll have to be prepared.

Sometimes learning

is just as painful as not knowing.

That's why I always say to my brothers,

"You gonna go into history,

can't have no hate attitude."

- I am ready.

- All right.

I've been ready.

Uh, here.

I'm afraid that Crownsville

was not a very nice place to be back then.

Let me see.

No holding back.

We had a serious asbestos problem.

Here we go.

You know,

of all the thousands upon thousands

of autopsy reports,

- this is all that remains.

- Wow.

The year she died?

19... 1955...

No, 1940... '45.

- Incredible.

- Wow.

- 1955.

- Oh, my goodness. Wow.

Um, her full name?

- Elsie. Elsie Lacks.

- Sure.

- Her name was Elsie?

- Elsie Lacks.

Elsie Lacks. Elsie...

Oh, my goodness, there she is!

Oh!

Oh, my goodness!

- Oh, my gosh!

- Jesus!

- Oh, my gosh!

- Whoo!

Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!

I can't tell you how impossible this is.

Thank you, Mother. Thank you, Lord.

- I found my sister!

- Oh, my God.

I have never seen a picture

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